Two years ago, I painted a pretty clear picture of why college football needs an eight-team playoff. I stand by that argument – eight is the way…no more, no less. So, I’ve started a new weekly column looking at what the College Football Playoff would look like under my format. I think it’s a reasonable way to determine a National Champion without leaving deserving candidates out, but making sure everyone has an equal chance to get in. With that said, let’s dive right in to my weekly College Football Playoff projections…
So, this is it – this is what the playoff teams would look like for 2018 under my format…
BIG NATURAL’S COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF PROJECTIONS
1. Alabama Crimson Tide (SEC Champion) – Another week, 60+ more points. No big deal for Nick Saban, Tua Tagovailoa, and company, as this Tide team continues to look like one of the all time greats. It’s just a shame the defense played so poorly against the Arkansas Razorbacks. But, of course, Saban is thinking about tightening that unit up before they play someone else who is capable of hanging 60 on the scoreboard.
2. Ohio State Buckeyes (Big Ten Champion) – Not much of a test for the Buckeyes on Saturday, and it looks like they won’t truly be tested again until the 11/24 game against Michigan. At this point, Ohio State looks as much of a lock for the CFP as anyone else. Then again, you just never know in the zany world of college football.
3. Clemson Tigers (ACC Champion) – The Tigers gain a spot with Oklahoma losing. Barring absolute chaos, that loss puts the Sooners out of the CFP. Business as usual for the Tigers – they’ve survived a couple of scares this season, but they played like a battle-tested team bent on pummeling an inferior opponent at Wake Forest last weekend. If they keep winning, they’ll be around come December. First, they have to get past a sneaky good NC State team next week.
4. West Virginia Mountaineers (Big 12 Champion) – How much do you trust the Mountaineers to hold on to the top spot in the Big 12? That, I don’t know. But, thanks in large part to quarterback Will Grier and a sick Dana Holgorsen offense (and hairdo), they’re undefeated and find themselves in first place in the Big 12. In my proposed playoff format, that warrants hosting a CFP game in Morgantown. With Texas and Oklahoma both remaining on the schedule, we’ll find out how good this team is in the coming weeks.
5. Washington Huskies (Pac 12 Champion) – If teams ahead of them keep losing and they keep winning, the Huskies just may reignite the Pac-12’s chances of getting into the CFP. Still think that’s a highly unlikely scenario, but Washington is clearly the best team in the conference nonetheless. They go to Oregon this week before hosting Colorado the following week. Those could prove to be two quality wins if they can survive ’em.
6. Georgia Bulldogs (Wild Card #1) – So far so good for the Bulldogs, but they’ve reached a critical point in the seasons. The next four games are all against ranked opponents in LSU, Florida, Kentucky, and Auburn. If they can survive that stretch, they’re going to be in great shape to compete for a CFP spot. But, man – that’s a tall task.
7. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Wild Card #2) – The Irish are officially unofficially in play for one of the four real life CFP spots. It should be smooth sailing for Notre Dame until the season finale against USC. If this team finishes the season undefeated, there’s no way the committee will ignore them.
8. UCF Golden Knights (Group of Five Representative) – UCF creeps into the top 10 of the AP poll, but as for this playoff format, it’s just another week and another win. As I said last week, Cincinnati and South Florida are the only threats to take this spot from them. Is the American East division better than the SEC West? Stay tuned.
So, that gives us…
(8) UCF at (1) Alabama
(5) Washington at (4) West Virginia
(7) Notre Dame at (2) Ohio State
(6) Georgia at (3) Clemson
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Alabama Crimson Tide football, the WWE, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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