Tony Barnhart
By Tony Barnhart
The College Football Playoffs released the second set of rankings Tuesday night.
So, what did we learn?
If the playoff started today, the top four teams—as was the
case last week-- would be 1) Ohio State 2) Indiana 3) Texas A&M
and 4) Alabama. Those four teams would get byes in the first
round. Seeds 5, 6, 7, and 8 would each host an on-campus game.
So based on the latest rankings, the first round would be:
No. 12 South Florida at No. 5 Georgia
No. 9 Notre Dame at No. 8 Oregon
No. 11 Miami at No. 6 Texas Tech
No. 10 Texas at No 7 Ole Miss
The SEC would have five teams in the playoffs: No. 3 Texas
A&M, No. 4 Alabama, No. 5 Georgia, No. 7 Ole Miss, and No.
10 Texas. No. 11 Oklahoma would be knocking on the door but
the Sooners have to first beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa on
Saturday to have a chance.
This Saturday’s game between No. 9 Notre Dame (7-2) and
No. 22 Pittsburgh (7-2) is HUGE!!!!!! A win all but locks up spot in
the playoff for the Fighting Irish. A loss opens the door for another
at-large team.
Ole Miss (9-1) dominated The Citadel, 49-0, but the Rebels fell to No. 7 behind Texas Tech,
which impressed with a 29-7 win over previously undefeated BYU.
No. 10 Texas (7-2) at No. 5 Georgia (8-1) is an elimination
game for the Longhorns. Georgia can still make the field if it loses
on Saturday, but it must beat Charlotte and Georgia Tech.
Georgia’s chances of reaching the SEC championship game will
take a hit if it loses to Texas. Georgia beat Texas twice last
season, first in a game at Austin and them again in the SEC
championship game.
South Florida (7-2) would be the Group of Five conference
champ and earn a spot in the field. Remember that USF opened
the season with a 34-7 win over Boise State and an 18-16 win at
Florida
The ACC had a bad weekend and now the race is wide, wide
open. Miami is No. 15 and Georgia Tech is No. 16 Virginia is No. 19,
Louisville is No. 20 and Pittsburgh is No. 22. I don’t see more than one
ACC team getting into the field.
The Big Ten would get three teams in—Ohio State, Indiana
and No. 8 Oregon. At No. 17, USC (7-2) would appear to be on
the outside looking it.
But remember: We have four Saturdays left in the regular season:
Nov. 15, Nov. 22, Nov. 29, and Dec. 6. A lot can happen,
and probably will.
Stay tuned.
Here are the remaining games for the Top Ten in this week’s CFP
Rankings:
TEAM…………………………GAMES REMAINING
1—Ohio State (9-0): Nov. 15 vs. UCLA; Nov. 22 vs. Rutgers; Nov.
29 at Michigan
2—Indiana (10-0): Nov. 15 vs. Wisconsin; Nov. 29 at Purdue
3—Texas A&M (9-0): Nov. 15 vs South Carolina; Nov. 22 vs.
Samford; Nov. 28 at Texas
4—Alabama (8-1): Nov. 15 vs. Oklahoma; Nov. 22 vs. Eastern
Illinois; Nov. 29 at Auburn
5—Georgia (8-1): Nov. 15 vs. Texas; Nov. 22 vs. Charlotte; Nov.
28 at Georgia Tech
6—Texas Tech (9-1): Nov. 15 vs UCF; Nov. 22 at West Virginia
7—Ole Miss (9-1): Nov. 15 vs. Florida; Nov. 28 at Mississippi State
8—Oregon (8-1): Nov. 14 vs. Minnesota; Nov. 22 vs. USC; Nov.
29 at Washington
9—Notre Dame (7-2): Nov. 15 at Pitt; Nov. 22 vs Syracuse; Nov.
29 at Stanford
10—Texas (7-2): Nov. 15 at Georgia; Nov. 22 vs Arkansas; Nov.
28 vs.Texas A&M