NCAA Football Report (Week 9)
It is the biggest week in the College Football season aside from the playoffs as everyone had their final chance to make an impression on the CFP committee.
The first CFP rankings of the season will come out on Tuesday and it will give the first real glimpse into this year’s playoffs.
Although the Coaches’ Poll and the AP Poll are fairly good barometers of where a team stands it really doesn’t weigh too much for the committee.
They will look at the season and make their own determination about where they think certain teams stand this season.
Everything up until now has essentially been speculation and this season there is plenty of that to go around.
Every week has seemed to have things figured out before it all falls apart with upsets rocking what everyone thought was the top four in the league.
It only continued this week as TCU and Penn State had been in the top four of the AP rankings for two weeks and were getting ready for their chance to debut in the playoff for the first CFP rankings.
They just needed to win and take their good seasons into the end of Week 9 to earn a spot in that first top four of the season.
It is far from a guarantee that they would be there to end the season but it would have been a great start.
It wasn’t to be for either of them though as the Horned Frogs took a loss to Iowa State in a shocker while the Nittany Lions were handed their first loss by Ohio State.
Those two losses threw even more uncertainty into the rankings as there are a lot more teams with one-loss that can make a real push.
With both of those losses, the league is left with a number of undefeated teams but only a few that would get the attention they need to get to the playoff.
The clear favourite to start the rankings at the top spot is Alabama as they have remained undefeated through the entire year.
They have to be the team at the top of the first CFP rankings without question but it gets a little cloudier beyond that.
Some would say that Georgia should be right behind them as another big program with an undefeated season.
Although they might be the obvious choice right now as the #2 team they might not be able to stay there.
Alabama and Georgia seem to be on a collision course as only one will be able to win the SEC title.
The loser will be handed their first loss of the season and then the debate begins about whether or not that one-loss team belongs in the playoff.
For the winner of that game, a playoff spot is assured but one of those two teams will have a tougher time hanging around.
Right in the thick of things is a team from the Big Ten that will have to deal with the same issue that either of those SEC teams will.
Wisconsin is the only undefeated team in the Big Ten but unless they can continue to win and take home the Big Ten title they won’t make the playoff.
They could be there at the start as the only undefeated team from the conference although Ohio State will be their biggest competition.
The Buckeyes are a one-loss team but seem to be headed for the Big Ten title game where they will need to solidify their spot.
The next legitimate undefeated team in the country is the Miami Hurricanes but they are not getting the same respect as the other undefeated teams.
They could end up in the initial playoff but the committee could also put them just outside and see what they have in store.
Their next two weeks hold the biggest tests against Virginia Tech and Notre Dame and if they can win both of those games it is going to be hard to argue that they don’t belong.
After those undefeated teams, there is plenty of great talent to look to as Notre Dame is on a great run while Clemson could make it in with an ACC title.
Penn State and Oklahoma could both also make a run if things go right for both of the teams in the next few weeks.
The way this season is going though nothing is to be unexpected and that is going to make things rough for the committee.
They have to make some really tough decisions and things are certain to change throughout November.
Everyone is watching though as the first rankings are going to be a good indication of the battle coming as a top-four ranking makes it a lot easier to stay in the top four when the season ends.
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