Playoff Preview

The good news about the 1^st CFB Playoff rankings that were unveiled earlier this week is that there is still plenty of time for all of these rankings to work themselves out.  Of course there has been a lot of 2^nd guessing, 1-loss Alabama and Notre Dame teams ahead of 8 undefeated teams, 2 SEC schools but no PAC-12 or Big XII teams are two of the more common complaints.  But as I said, luckily it will all play out on the field. 

We are going to breakdown the rankings and figure out what exactly we can expect as the season continues.

1) CLEMSON TIGERS (8-0, 5-0 ACC)
Next Game: SAT vs #16 Florida State
Best Win: vs #5 Notre Dame 24-22
Worst Loss: N/A
Biggest Remaining Challenge: #16 Florida State this week
Clemson has been probably the most consistent team both week to week and unit to unit on the field.  The Clemson D is one of the top in the nation and the O can also put up points with the best of them.

2) LSU TIGERS (7-0, 4-0 SEC)
Next Game: SAT @ #4 Alabama
Best Win: vs #10 Florida 35-28
Worst Loss: N/A
Biggest Remaining Challenge: #4 Alabama this week
LSU has done it with a power running game and a stingy defense all season.  Saturday in Tuscaloosa will be the Tigers biggest challenge to date.  A win against Alabama will put them in the driver’s seat in the SEC West.

3) OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (8-0, 4-0 Big Ten)
Next Game: SAT vs Minnesota
Best Win: @ Virginia Tech 42-24
Worst Loss: N/A
Biggest Remaining Challenge: vs #7 Michigan State 11/21
Ohio State is the Florida State of this season.  They have not been very impressive, but they keep winning.  Like FSU last year, they probably don’t deserve to be in the rankings, but as long as they win, the defending champion will have a spot reserved in the playoff.

4) ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE (7-1, 4-1 SEC)
Next Game: SAT vs #2 LSU
Best Win: @ #19 Texas A&M 41-23
Worst Loss: vs #18 Mississippi 43-37
Biggest Remaining Challenge: vs #2 LSU this week
Alabama is a very good team that is not deserving of this ranking.  If they beat LSU on Saturday, then you put them here, but their bad home loss weighs more for me than their handful of good but not great wins.

5) NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH (7-1)
Next Game: SAT @ Pitt
Best Win: @ #22 Temple 24-20
Worst Loss: @ #1 Clemson 24-22
Biggest Remaining Challenge: @ #11 Stanford 11/28
Notre Dame is not the best 1-loss team.  They will get a chance to earn that title the last game of the season against Stanford.  ND always puts together a tough schedule, but this year none of their opponents lived up to expectations, making it tough to get a good read on the Irish.

6) BAYLOR BEARS (7-0, 4-0 Big XII)
Next Game: THUR @ Kansas State
Best Win: @ Texas Tech 63-35
Worst Loss: N/A
Biggest Remaining Challenge: @ #8 TCU 11/27
Baylor has pounded everyone they have faced, but unfortunately they have played nobody.  Their 3-game stretch in Mid-November will be a make or break stretch for the Bears.

7) MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS (8-0, 4-0 Big Ten)
Next Game: SAT @ Nebraska
Best Win: @ #17 Michigan 27-23
Worst Loss: N/A
Biggest Remaining Challenge: @ #3 Ohio State 11/21
Michigan State has been tried and tested, but just keeps winning.  In my eyes they have been the best team in the Big Ten.  When they face Ohio State in Columbus in 3 weeks it will not only be for the Big Ten East, but also likely a playoff spot.

8) TCU HORNED FROGS (8-0, 5-0 Big XII)
Next Game: SAT @ #14 Oklahoma State
Best Win: vs Texas 50-7
Worst Loss: N/A
Biggest Remaining Challenge: vs #6 Baylor 11/27
TCU has not been as dominant as Baylor in their wins over bad opponents.  The Big XII back loading the conference schedule is not doing anyone any favors.  TCU finishes with 3 Top 15 opponents in their final 4 games.

9) IOWA HAWKEYES (8-0, 4-0 Big Ten)
Next Game: SAT @ Indiana
Best Win: @ Wisconsin 10-6
Worst Loss: N/A
Biggest Remaining Challenge: Big Ten Championship Game 12/5
Iowa should be the overwhelming favorite to win the rest of their games.  If that happens, does an undefeated Iowa team from a very weak Big Ten West make the playoffs?

10) FLORIDA GATORS (7-1, 5-1 SEC)
Next Game: SAT vs Vanderbilt
Best Win: vs #18 Mississippi 38-10
Worst Loss: @ #2 LSU 35-28
Biggest Remaining Challenge: vs #16 Florida State 11/28
Florida finally has an explosive offense to go with a tough defense.  The Gators have already clinched a spot in the SEC Title game against most likely the winner of ALA/LSU this week.  That could give them a chance for a rematch against LSU.

At this time last year, Ohio State was ranked #16, so there is still a lot of time for change in these rankings.  Some other teams to keep an eye on outside of the Top 10 are Stanford and Oklahoma.  Stanford still has 2 or 3 games to help their cause and Oklahoma still has games against 3 undefeated teams to state their case.