College Football Playoff Projections Week 14: Did Mississippi State Stay In?
Nov 22, 2014; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban during warmups for the game against Western Carolina Catamounts at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports
Projected Four College Football Playoff Teams
1. Alabama Crimson Tide, 10-1
If the Alabama Crimson Tide do everything they would be projected to do based on these rankings, then they would beat a ranked 8-3 Auburn team and when the SEC Championship game against what is likely a 10-2 team but at the very worst a 9-3 team. That is two quality wins to add to their already impressive resume, and that would make for an incredible schedule strength that Florida State couldn’t come close to. The result would be Alabama being the No. 1 team in the country despite having a loss on their resume.
2. Florida State Seminoles, 11-0
The Florida State Seminoles have a chance to impress the Selection Committee to a point by picking up a decent win against Florida and a quality win against Georgia Tech. Winning both games would assure them a Top 2 spot as one of the only undefeated teams in college football, but it wouldn’t be enough for them to leapfrog Alabama in the eyes of the Selection Committee. The Seminoles would be 13-0 at that point with a bunch of decent wins but none that would compare to Alabama’s Top three wins. As a result, they would have to remain the No. 2 seed.
3. Oregon Ducks, 10-1
Oregon’s schedule strength in the regular season at the end of the year is what will drop it to No. 3 in the Selection Committee’s eyes, and as all of the teams beat ranked teams in the Conference Championship games, that week won’t be enough to move them back to No. 2. As a result, they would be No. 3 in the College Football Playoff, and the only reason they would be there is because of beating a 10-2 team in the Pac-12 Championship. There are still three teams from the Pac-12 South in that race as well.
4. Mississippi State Bulldogs, 10-1
Mississippi State has a great chance to continue to impress pollsters by beating Ole Miss this week, which would be a huge quality win despite the fact that Ole Miss just got beat by Arkansas. Doing that on the road would move the Bulldogs to 11-1, and there’s no way they could be left out of the College Football Playoff simply because they might not play conference championship weekend. Of course, should Alabama lose to Auburn, that’s another way the Bulldogs could make sure they get in. But even still, they should be able to squeak in at No. 4.
Next: Projected College Football Playoff Pairings