Welcome to my College Football Playoff projections, which are a weekly feature through season’s end. I will update and adjust them each week after each Saturday’s results. Austin Mock will have his computer-based projections, which will differ greatly from my opinion-based selections.
A couple of decades ago, when I covered Major League Baseball, a general manager told me that April is about reasons and May is about results. The same theory applies to college football in September and October. We found out which teams are capable of competing for the College Football Playoff in the first month. Now, it’s about proving it.
Top-ranked Ohio State passed another test with a resounding win at No. 17 Illinois. Miami was off, but the Hurricanes are there with the Buckeyes. The most impressive team this week — and perhaps the best win of the season — came from No. 7 Indiana beating No. 3 Oregon 30-20 in Eugene. Any questions raised about Indiana’s CFP viability from last year have no bearing this year. The Hoosiers are better in every area this fall and proved it at Oregon.
The SEC had some upheaval, with Texas popping previously unbeaten Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl and Alabama outlasting Missouri in Columbia. The loss knocks the Sooners out of the CFP field — for now — and the Tigers stay just on the outside. Ole Miss survived against Washington State, 24-21, in a win that felt more like a loss. The Rebels slip a few spots as a penalty but can earn their way back into a bye this week should they win at Georgia. I’m not sure if Texas A&M is an SEC championship team or merely really good. We’ll know in a few weeks with games against LSU and Missouri.
Oklahoma’s Red River loss opens up a slot, and USC’s dismantling of Michigan with nearly 500 yards suggests the Trojans are the nation’s most overlooked team. They get a chance to prove if they belong in the CFP pool this week at Notre Dame.
Should these first-round matchups come to fruition, Georgia visiting Oregon and former defensive coordinator Dan Lanning at Autzen Stadium would have ABC salivating. One of the great rivalries would have its biggest stage with LSU visiting Ole Miss. USF heads to Alabama, and USC at Texas Tech rounds out the field.
Five upcoming games with CFP significance: Ole Miss at Georgia (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC); Texas Tech at Arizona State (4 p.m. ET, Fox); USC at Notre Dame (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC); Tennessee at Alabama (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC); Utah at BYU (8 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
