College Football Playoff Projections: Unafraid Top 10 after Week 6
Do you like chaos? Then this week’s College Football Playoff projections are for you? Where does the Top 10 sit after two teams fell on Saturday?
There has been MAJOR shakeup in the top 10 of the Unafraid College Football Playoff Rankings. With only one ranked game all weekend, you wouldn’t have thought the weekend of college football would have been a entertaining as it was. We saw two teams in the after week 5 Unafraid College Football Playoff Rankings lose. That means never get too comfortable with you teams’ success. Any given Saturday any team not named Clemson can lose.
Before we get started let me read you the #Unafraid College Football Playoff Top 10 fine print:
If you are a real College Football fan, the #Unafraid Top 10 is for you. Our Top 10 is accurate and decided exclusively 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.
I know having San Diego State in the Unafraid College Football Playoff Rankings seems like its off the top rope, but it’s not. The Aztecs have already beat Air Force, Arizona State, and Stanford. Their running back Rashaad Penny is the second leading rusher in the nation. If you match them up with teams on the fringe of the top 10 like Virginia Tech, Auburn , or Ohio State San Diego State can compete and win.
I was reluctant to put the Hurricanes in the Unafraid College Football Playoff Rankings because they have only played four games, and we don’t know a lot about them yet.. Miami does have two victories against two ACC opponents, which counts for something. In their 24-20 win over Florida State their quarterback Malik Rosier showed he is one of the best passers in the country.
Wisconsin pulled away late in their 38-17 win over Nebraska. I am consistently underwhelmed by the Badgers. They do not pass the “eye test”, but the Unafraid College Football Playoff Rankings does not care about the eye test. Who did you play, did you win, or did you lose are the only things the rankings care about. If the Badgers continue to play defense at this rate, it will be hard for anyone to knock them out of a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game.
The only thing holding the Huskies back in the Unafraid College Football Playoff Rankings is their non conference schedule. To Washington’s credit, they have been dominant in conference play, including Week 6’s 38-7 destruction of Cal. Their quarterback Jake Browning has been solid, but much like last year the Huskies are fueled by their defense. The Huskies schedule is set up for them to finish the season undefeated.
The stars for Penn State’s showed up in their 31-7 victory over Northwestern. Both Trace McSorley and Saquon Barkley had solid performances. I did pick the Nittany Lions as one of my two teams I believed would win the national championship, but I will admit I am concerned about this team. The concern is surrounding the lack of explosiveness with the offense. Penn State better get their offense together before they mess my prediction up.
It’s tough to argue with Georgia jumping ahead of Penn State based on schedule. The fact that Notre Dame keeps winning every week makes Georgia look better. I am totally impressed and surprised with the efficiency of the Bulldogs offense. Jacob Eason got some time under center in mob up duty for the second consecutive week. I didn’t like it because it felt like Kirby Smart gave him time to “keep him happy”. Trying to keep people happy is the kiss of death for teams.
Washington State beat Oregon 33-10. While is was a solid win, it lost a little bit of its luster because Oregon was playing with their 3rd string true freshman quarterback. I still believe the Washington State is the best team in the Pac-12 and can beat any team in the nation not named Clemson. They will have to keep it up if they want respect.
TCU is quietly establishing themselves as one of the nation’s most consistent teams. This week, the Horned Frogs knocked off a ranked West Virginia team 31-24. The most effective part of the TCU team has been their defense. They have slowed both Oklahoma State and West Virginia offensively. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State were the preseason favorites in the Big 12, but after six weeks TCU sits squarely on top of the conference.
Alabama finally got their first test since week one against Florida State. They held off Texas A&M 27-19. Alabama’s defense has to continue to show up big if they want to finish their SEC schedule undefeated. It does not appear that Jalen Hurts is a proficient enough of a passer to win a game if the Crimson Tide are ever forced to play from behind. They have too big of a hole a QB to be the No. 1 team in the Unafraid College Football Playoff Rankings.
Next: Projected Week 7 AP Poll
There are a couple of things we have learned that are inevitabilities this season, death, taxes, and Clemson as the No. 1 team in the Unafraid College Football Playoff Rankings. They beat a very tough Wake Forest team 28-14. The Tigers are a complete football team. Even when their young quarterback Kelly Bryant doesn’t have a huge game Clemson shows up big time on defense. At this point, Clemson seems to cruising toward another special season.