College Football Playoff 2017: What will the first top-four look like?
Here is my take on what the College Football Playoff committee should do, and what the committee probably will do.
As I predicted last week, the SEC will most likely get two teams in the top four, particularly in light of Georgia’s massive blowout of Florida on Saturday. So give the No. 1 spot to Alabama and No. 2 to Georgia. Say what you will, these two teams are the best teams in the FBS, hands down. The question is, who will get the other two spots?
Who should get the next two spots? In my opinion, it should be Oklahoma and Clemson. Before you start squawking at me, I have legitimate reasons for thinking this. Yes, I know that Ohio State just beat second-ranked Penn State, but Oklahoma definitively outplayed OSU at every turn earlier this season, whereas Ohio State’s win over Penn State was a white-knuckle nailbiter of a game that came down to the last seconds. Oklahoma had a higher-quality win, period.
As for Clemson, I know that they are not the same team that won the national title last year. Nonetheless, the Tigers have been playing good football all season and to leave them out of the argument seems punitive, despite their surreal loss to Syracuse.
There is also a legitimate argument for Wisconsin if the committee insists on putting a Big Ten team into the mix. The Badgers have done nothing but win all season, and if they can continue on their hot streak they deserve a chance.
Who probably will get the last two spots? Notre Dame and Ohio State. Yes, I know that Notre Dame has decades of college football history and that they are a storied team. This is also the reason that they are always in contention for a spot in the top 10, no matter what their season looks like. But really, the only great win this season has been against NC State.
Regardless, the committee will most likely pick them over Clemson or Wisconsin just because they are Notre Dame (or maybe the committee is afraid that Touchdown Jesus will curse them).
The committee probably will choose Ohio State for the last spot. I will grant that J.T. Barrett’s performance against Penn State was flawless, but does that mean that Oklahoma’s win should be negated? No, but it probably will, meaning that the Big 12 will be left out of the CFP for the second year straight.
Next: College Football Playoff Top 25 projections: Week 10
There are also arguments for Miami, TCU, Penn State and Virginia Tech. We’ll see how it plays out on Tuesday.