While the playoff committee doesn’t rank the power 5 conference, there is no way conference strength – which means OOC results doesn’t figure in to a committee members thought process.
Let me point out on my philosophy on these rankings – your most recent OOC results count a lot, and you’ll see me reference that throughout the season.
We’ll give each conference a relative strength value 1-10.
Let me explain my relative rankings
0-5 : Conference lacks depth no elite teams
6-7: Conference lacks depth, and there are 1-2 elite teams, and 1-2 quality teams
7-8: At least 2 elite teams, and at least 2 quality teams.
8-9: 3 elite teams, and at least 2 quality teams
9-10: 1/2 of conference is elite and/or quality teams.
1) Big 10 – 8.1
What happened to Wisconsin losing to an awful Illinois team 24-23. That takes one of the Big 10’s playoff contenders off the radar. Penn State did beat Michigan giving the Big 10 two playoff caliber teams.
Minnesota is quietly 7-0, and 7-0 at this point in the season gets a look.
Wisconsin at Ohio State is a huge game. If Michigan can beat Notre Dame, that keep the Big 10 ahead of the SEC, as their lead shrank from last week. The Big 10 boasts 6 ranked teams.
Playoff Contenders
Ohio State, Penn State
In the Playoff Picture
Minnesota
Week 8 Key Games
Wisconsin at Ohio State
Notre Dame at Michigan
2) SEC – 8.0
Missouri a ranked SEC team losing to Vanderbilt?? That keeps the SEC behind the Big 10 this week. LSU and Alabama are firmly in the playoff chase, with Auburn coming to LSU this week.
That game has major playoff implications. If Auburn wins they are right back in the playoff discussion.
Week 8 Key Games
Auburn at LSU
Playoff Contenders
LSU, Alabama
In the Playoff Picture
NONE
3) Big 12 – 7.5
Texas barely hung on to beat Kansas. That would have been a bad look for the Big 12. Baylor like Minnesota is 7-0 at this point in the season, so we’ll keep an eye on them.
Week 8 Key Games
Oklahoma at Kansas State
Playoff Contenders
Oklahoma
In the Playoff Picture
Baylor
4) Pac 12 – 6.7
Oregon and Utah inch closer to the fringe of the playoff discussion after ranked in conference wins, and they have more ranked teams than the ACC so that keeps the Pac 12 ahead of that conference.
Week 8 Key Games
California at Utah
Washington State at Oregon
Playoff Contenders
NONE
In the Playoff Picture
NONE
5) ACC – 6.6
Wake Forest with a win over FSU gets them back into the top 25. That’s help the ACC. The ACC needs 3rd ranked to move ahead of the Pac 12 or for some the Pac 12 ranked teams to fall.
Clemson remains one of the country’s elite teams.
Week 8 Key Games
Boston College at Clemson
Playoff Contenders
Clemson
In the Playoff Picture
NONE
The Rest
Notre Dame didn’t play this week, but they have Michigan this week to try and fight their to the playoff top 4. It’s likely their last chance to impress anybody.
Playoff Contenders
NONE
In the Playoff Picture
Notre Dame
My Current Playoff Teams
As my personal criticism of the playoff committee, I don’t think the top 4 seeds order should be released until the final rankings. The playoff committee’s inconsistent and ever changing criteria is causing unnecessary frustration and confusion. It’s one of the improvement points I’d have for them.
If I had a vote this is who I would put in the playoff right now.
In – Ohio State | Oklahoma | Clemson | LSU
Just Missed – 5) Alabama 6) Penn State 7) Florida 8 ) Notre Dame
