College Football Playoff Projections: Unafraid Top 10 picks after Week 3
It’s never to early to start talking about the College Football Playoff. Here are the #Unafraid College Football Top 10 picks at the end of Week 3.
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If you are a real College Football fan, the #Unafraid Top 10 is for you. The Top 10 is accurate and decided by accomplishment rather than potential like most well known polls. Future schedules and games are not accounted for. The only things that matter are the results.
The #Unafraid Top 10 does what the College Football Playoff Committee has neglected to do. Teams that play and beat tough competition are rewarded. Teams that schedule poor competition are Top 10 road kill. With that, let’s get to it.
The Cougars are sneaky little devils. No one is talking about this team because historically they are the Mississippi State of the Pac-12. Occasionally good, but it never really sticks. Their quarterback Luke Falk could shock the world and win the Pac-12, which would definitely earn Washington State a seat in the college football playoff.
I am one of the few people who expected Mississippi State to dominate LSU. People were expecting LSU to contend with Alabama for the SEC championship, when in reality they still have NO offense. The Bulldogs quarterback Nick Fitzgerald is good. Alabama better be on the lookout traveling to Mississippi State the week after the LSU game.
The Badgers always play an UGLY brand of football. It is old school hard to watch Big Ten football, but they win. Wisconsin is always hovering around the college football playoff top 10. With the exception of whoever the starting running back is, their players feel like nameless, faceless robots that silently do their job. Think about it. Try naming 10 Wisconsin NFL players that aren’t running backs.
There is not a more fun team to watch play football this season than Penn State. Their quarterback Trace McSorley reminds me so much of Johnny Manziel. He is creative, slippery in the pocket, and regularly has those, “no, no, don’t do that, oh my God, good job, you scared me, don’t do that again” moments. As far as running back Saquon Barkley goes, just Google his highlights. Penn State will be a top four team come seasons’ end.
Oklahoma State is the other team I picked to win the National Championship this season. The Cowboys have been lights out offensive and defensively through three weeks. They just cannot be in the ranked higher with their two best wins over Pittsburgh and Tulsa. The Cowboys have their first real test this weekend against TCU.
Oklahoma will likely finish the season in the top six, and possibly in one of the coveted top four. Victories against UTEP, Tulane, and Ohio State provide a good start to the season for the Sooners. I love Oklahoma’s upside with Baker Mayfield commanding the offense. Boy, I cannot wait for “Bedlam” (Oklahoma vs Oklahoma State) this year! Nov. 4 is circled on my calendar.
Michigan at No. 4 shows how unbiased the #Unafraid poll is. I have been very vocal about my belief that Michigan is overrated. Not overrated in the general, they suck kind of way. Overrated in the ‘just not a national championship contender’ kind of way. Next year the Wolverines will be a true contender. This year Michigan has beat Florida, Air Force and Cincinnati already. Their body of work compared to those behind them speaks for itself.
The Crimson Tide was not particularly impressive offensively against Florida State, but they won. Alabama also gets credit for scheduling a tough non-power 5 game against Colorado State. I am not convinced that Alabama will finish in the top four final college football playoff rankings, but they are off to a good start. Their feet will be put to the fire when SEC play starts.
Remember, competition and wins are king of the #Unafraid poll. USC has a schedule that can consistently keep them in the Top 4. They play 11 power five teams and one non-power five team that won 12 games last year. The Trojans have already defeated Western Michigan, Stanford and Texas. This poll does not care about style points, only results.
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Through three weeks, Tigers have clearly played and defeated the toughest schedule in the nation. Auburn and Louisville are quality, top 20 football teams, and Clemson dominated both games. There is no debate that the reigning national champions are the best team in the nation.