Tony Barnhart
By Tony Barnhart
Okay. We’ve got nine weeks in the books. The first set of CFP
rankings will be released a week from Tuesday. And then the fun
will really begin.
I personally think it is going to be one of the best Novembers ever.
So after nine weeks, what have we learned?
How about this?
If the College Football Playoff started tomorrow, the SEC would
have five of the 12 teams in the tournament. The Big Ten would
have three and the ACC would have two.
That explosion you just heard came from the Big Ten offices in
Rosemont, Ill. The top half of that conference is strong with three
of the top six teams.
The bottom half of the Big Ten? Not so much.
But keep this in mind. These projections are what would happen if the
playoff started TODAY. I’m not projecting the final lineup. That will come later.
Here is the breakdown of one man’s 12-team CFP field by
conference:
SEC (5): Texas A&M (8-0), Alabama (7-1), Georgia (7-1), Ole
Miss (7-1) and Vanderbilt (7-1), are in good shape. Tennessee (6-2),
Missouri (6-2) and Oklahoma (6-2) all have two losses but
could still be in the discussion at the end of the regular season if
they win out.
BIG TEN (3) No. 1 Ohio State (8-0), No. 2 Indiana (8-0), and No.
6 Oregon (7-1) are in good shape. Maybe Michigan (6-2) gets a look if the
Wolverines run the table and beat Ohio State. I don’t think that is
going to happen.
ACC (2): Miami (6-1) and Georgia Tech (8-0) would both be in if
the field was chosen today. Also keep an eye on Virginia (7-1)
and Louisville (6-1).
BIG 12 (1): BYU (8-0) still has to play Texas Tech (7-1). No matter
now you draw it up, I can’t see the Big 12 getting more than one
team in.
Group of Five (1) Memphis (7-1) posted a big win over South
Florida over weekend and has the inside track for the Group of
Five representative.
So what about Notre Dame (5-2)?: Right now I don’t have them in.
But things could change. If the Fighting Irish win out and finish 10-
2 they have a shot at getting one of the final bids. But who on this
list gets knocked out? They played Miami tough (24-21) and
Texas A&M tough (41-40) but didn’t win either game. Would that
be enough to get Marcus Freeman’s back into the CFP?
Stay turned.
The Irish should roll through the rest of their schedule
which includes Boston College, Navy, Pitt, Syracuse, and
Stanford. Three of those games are on the road.
#30