College Football Playoff 2020: Projected top 4 after Week 8

Week 8 of the season saw the rise of some worthy College Football Playoff contenders as well as some teams that suffered huge setbacks in the race.

It was good to have the Big Ten and the Mountain West back in action for Week 8 of the 2020 season. This past week, like many others this year, there were several surprises and upsets.

While Big Ten teams like No. 5 Ohio State and No. 14 Wisconsin handled their business in their first game of the season, there were other teams in the conference that did not. No. 8 Penn State was looking to be a threat for the College Football Playoff, but instead it lost a remarkably close game with the Indiana Hoosiers, 36-35. This was the first top-10 win for the Hoosiers in 41 years.

Michigan State also had its season start on a disappointing note. The Spartans dropped their first home game of the season to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, 38-27.

With the inclusion of the Big Ten and soon the Pac-12, more teams are competing heavily for the College Football Playoff. This means there will be no room for errors for surprising upsets and losses in conference championships. Teams like No. 7 Cincinnati and No. 11 BYU are looking better each week while the Wisconsin Badgers (now ranked No. 9) started their season strong.

Look for some playoff pretenders to drop soon while some top teams get surprised with some potential upsets. For now, three teams are considered elite but there are still plenty of contenders for that potential fourth spot.