Saturday Blitz College Football Playoff Projections Week 8
Teams on the Outside Looking In Who Still Control Their Own Destiny for a Spot in the Playoff
1. Ole Miss Rebels
This is the most obvious one. The Rebels have the No. 3 ranked team in the country right now, but we are basing our projections on what they will do throughout the rest of the year, and because Mississippi State is higher in our Top 25, that’s obviously a projected loss from our perspective right now. But the Rebels have complete control of their own destiny, and if they win out, they will definitely be in the College Football Playoff. There’s no reason for them to worry just yet.
2. Kansas State Wildcats
The Wildcats remain undefeated in Big 12 play and have complete control of their own destiny to win the Big 12 title. Therefore, they are in control of their own destiny to make it into the College Football Playoff. This is the second-toughest conference right now, and Kansas State has played a very tough schedule, so making it to 11-1 in the Big 12 and going undefeated in the conference should be an automatic bid. They would obviously knock off Baylor doing that. The only twist is that if Kansas State wins out and Auburn wins out, and then Auburn doesn’t go to the SEC Title game due to the Mississippi State loss, the Tigers might have a strong case to be in since they’d be 11-1 as well and beat the Wildcats. At that point, we’d knock out Notre Dame probably. But that’s a long way away from here.
3. Georgia Bulldogs
That’s right, if the Bulldogs win out, that means they would go 12-1 and win the SEC championship. Obviously, that’s a long shot, but does anybody honestly think a 12-1 SEC team is going to be left out of the College Football Playoff equation? Of course not. Even though Georgia plays in the SEC East, the weaker division, making it to 12-1 would still require wins over Auburn and the SEC West champion in addition to their already impressive in over Clemson. Those would be three great wins on the year, and it would be enough to propel the Dawgs into the playoff. Therefore, despite being No. 13 in our Top 25, they technically control their own destiny.
4. Arizona State Sun Devils
Yes, this one sounds crazy, but pay attention for a moment. If Arizona State wins out, they would win the Pac 12. That would also include beating Notre Dame. Doing that would knock the Irish out of the College Football Playoff discussion, and it would propel a theoretically 12-1 Sun Devils team into the mix with the Big 12, SEC, and ACC champions. Priority for conference champions goes to SEC, Big 12, and then Pac 12 right now, so they would get in over any 1-loss Big Ten team if that happened. And as crazy as it sounds, Arizona State is technically one of the few teams left that controls its own destiny in making the College Football Playoff.
Continue to Next Slide for Teams that Need Help but Still Have a Chance