Only 14 FBS teams remain undefeated as we enter the month of October. Let’s assess which are College Football Playoff contenders and which are pretenders.
Out of 130 teams at the FBS level of Division I college football, only 14 of those teams still boast a perfect record through the first five weeks of the 2018 season. Every Power Five conference still has at least one team without a loss on their record. There are three Group of Five teams still in the running, and independent Notre Dame is also in the mix.
Not all of these teams will make it out of October with their perfect records intact. And even if they do, some teams will have a much stronger case to present before the College Football Playoff selection committee. Perfection, after all, has never been one of their primary criteria for determining which four teams to select.
For some teams, it is their strength of schedule that will ultimately doom them. For others, it will be a weakness in offensive productivity. Yet more will deal with defenses that simply won’t hold up to the wear and tear of a full regular-season schedule.
Will there be two SEC teams in the playoff for a second straight year? Is this the year Notre Dame finally puts it all together? Which Power Five conference(s) look most likely to be shut out of the College Football Playoff? And could a Group of Five team actually make it in this year?!
With all those questions in mind, let’s dive in and take a sober look at each of these 14 teams and assess whether they are contenders or pretenders in the College Football Playoff race.