With one more weekend of games to go the inaugural College Football Playoff is starting to take shape. A lot could still change with the conference championship games still to be played but there are some teams that have put themselves in a good position to be in the conversation of the top four college teams in the nation.
All of the previous top three teams, Alabama, Oregon and Florida State, got wins against their in-state rivals and will be in their conference championship games next. The only member of the previous top 4 to lose was Mississippi State who spent a lot of this season as the nation’s top college team. Their loss against Ole Miss likely knocked them out of the playoff discussion unless a lot of teams who currently have one loss lose in the their last games.
Mississippi State’s loss gives hope to the three teams who were previously ranked fifth through seventh of getting into the playoff. TCU, Baylor and Ohio State are those teams and they all won but Ohio State is the only one of them with a conference championship to play where they will face Wisconsin. Unfortunately for the Buckeyes in their win against Michigan their starting quarterback was lost for the season and they will have to play in the Big 10 championship with a different quarterback.
Of the three teams that will likely stay in the top three, Oregon had the best result over their rival Oregon State with a big 47-19 win. Their quarterback, Marcus Mariota may have sealed his Heisman candidacy with the win scoring six total touchdowns, four passing and two rushing. In the Pac 12 championship game Oregon will face Arizona the only team to beat them this season. If they can avenge that earlier loss they will likely get a spot in the playoff and their quarterback will most likely win the Heisman, depending on how Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon does in his championship game against Ohio State.
Florida State had the closest brush with a badly timed loss in their struggle to beat archrival Florida by a score of 24-19. Even though they are the only remaining undefeated team and have won 28 straight games they have perhaps gotten the least respect of any team in the playoff picture. Being the defending champions and having no losses should give you the number one ranking, but for this FSU team the reason it has not is because of how mediocre they have looked in some of the big games they have played. A five-point win over a now 6-5 Florida team is another close win in a long list of close wins over teams with mediocre records. A lot of how little credit this team has gotten may have to do with the extreme level of dislike for their quarterback Jameis Winston who seems to go out of his way to annoy people who are not fans of his team. His performance against Florida, 125 yards and four interceptions, was the worst of his college career but his team rallied around him, especially the defense, and they kept their win streak alive. In the ACC championship they will face Georgia Tech in what will be a tough test and likely a playoff like game for the Seminoles, because even if they only have 1 loss it would be a horribly timed loss that would likely knock them out of the College Football Playoff.
The team in contention for the College Football Playoff that perhaps had the most impressive win was number one ranked Alabama. Early on, their bitter rivals Auburn seemed to be the better team moving the ball at will on the tough Crimson Tide defense. At one point the backup quarterback was warming up after starter Blake Sims threw his third interception. But after that move the offense began to explode led by receiver Amari Cooper who finished with 224 yards and three touchdowns. Cooper will likely be in New York for the Heisman presentation after an extremely impressive college season and will look to boost his candidacy in the SEC Championship against Missouri.
Alabama is a very interesting case in the playoff picture because they might be able to make the playoff even with a loss in the SEC title game. Their opponent Missouri may have an outside chance at the playoff if they do beat the Tide but it is unlikely. The respect that the SEC gets nationally may just lead to Alabama making the first playoff no matter the result of the SEC title game. The Tide will be favored to beat Missouri but it would really cause some havoc if Missouri got the victory.
With championship weekend upcoming there is still a lot to be decided when it comes to the inaugural College Football Playoff. Every team with a shot at the playoff will have their eyes on the ACC, SEC and Pac 12 title games with hopes that Florida State, Alabama or Oregon could possibly lose and shake up the picture enough for them to get a spot in the college playoff.
Commentary by Max Petkevicius
Sources:
Sports Illustrated
USA Today
ESPN
Photo Courtesy of License
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College Football Playoff Outlook
With one more weekend of games to go the inaugural College Football Playoff is starting to take shape. A lot could still change with the conference championship games still to be played but there are some teams that have put themselves in a good position to be in the conversation of the top four college teams in the nation.
All of the previous top three teams, Alabama, Oregon and Florida State, got wins against their in-state rivals and will be in their conference championship games next. The only member of the previous top 4 to lose was Mississippi State who spent a lot of this season as the nation’s top college team. Their loss against Ole Miss likely knocked them out of the playoff discussion unless a lot of teams who currently have one loss lose in the their last games.
Mississippi State’s loss gives hope to the three teams who were previously ranked fifth through seventh of getting into the playoff. TCU, Baylor and Ohio State are those teams and they all won but Ohio State is the only one of them with a conference championship to play where they will face Wisconsin. Unfortunately for the Buckeyes in their win against Michigan their starting quarterback was lost for the season and they will have to play in the Big 10 championship with a different quarterback.
Of the three teams that will likely stay in the top three, Oregon had the best result over their rival Oregon State with a big 47-19 win. Their quarterback, Marcus Mariota may have sealed his Heisman candidacy with the win scoring six total touchdowns, four passing and two rushing. In the Pac 12 championship game Oregon will face Arizona the only team to beat them this season. If they can avenge that earlier loss they will likely get a spot in the playoff and their quarterback will most likely win the Heisman, depending on how Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon does in his championship game against Ohio State.
Florida State had the closest brush with a badly timed loss in their struggle to beat archrival Florida by a score of 24-19. Even though they are the only remaining undefeated team and have won 28 straight games they have perhaps gotten the least respect of any team in the playoff picture. Being the defending champions and having no losses should give you the number one ranking, but for this FSU team the reason it has not is because of how mediocre they have looked in some of the big games they have played. A five-point win over a now 6-5 Florida team is another close win in a long list of close wins over teams with mediocre records. A lot of how little credit this team has gotten may have to do with the extreme level of dislike for their quarterback Jameis Winston who seems to go out of his way to annoy people who are not fans of his team. His performance against Florida, 125 yards and four interceptions, was the worst of his college career but his team rallied around him, especially the defense, and they kept their win streak alive. In the ACC championship they will face Georgia Tech in what will be a tough test and likely a playoff like game for the Seminoles, because even if they only have 1 loss it would be a horribly timed loss that would likely knock them out of the College Football Playoff.
The team in contention for the College Football Playoff that perhaps had the most impressive win was number one ranked Alabama. Early on, their bitter rivals Auburn seemed to be the better team moving the ball at will on the tough Crimson Tide defense. At one point the backup quarterback was warming up after starter Blake Sims threw his third interception. But after that move the offense began to explode led by receiver Amari Cooper who finished with 224 yards and three touchdowns. Cooper will likely be in New York for the Heisman presentation after an extremely impressive college season and will look to boost his candidacy in the SEC Championship against Missouri.
Alabama is a very interesting case in the playoff picture because they might be able to make the playoff even with a loss in the SEC title game. Their opponent Missouri may have an outside chance at the playoff if they do beat the Tide but it is unlikely. The respect that the SEC gets nationally may just lead to Alabama making the first playoff no matter the result of the SEC title game. The Tide will be favored to beat Missouri but it would really cause some havoc if Missouri got the victory.
With championship weekend upcoming there is still a lot to be decided when it comes to the inaugural College Football Playoff. Every team with a shot at the playoff will have their eyes on the ACC, SEC and Pac 12 title games with hopes that Florida State, Alabama or Oregon could possibly lose and shake up the picture enough for them to get a spot in the college playoff.
Commentary by Max Petkevicius
Sources:
Sports Illustrated
USA Today
ESPN
Photo Courtesy of License
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