College Football Playoff: Projected top four after Week 1

Fiesta Bowl (No. 2 Ohio State vs No. 3 Alabama)

This is another instance where I think Alabama is the better team but you have to give credit to teams for what they do on the field and Ohio State had one of the best wins in Week 1.

Ohio State didn’t cover the spread and some college football fans seem to feel the Buckeyes disappointed but that just shows how high the expectations are.

The Buckeyes beat the No. 5 preseason team in the AP poll, 21-10, without their best player. I know C.J. Stroud is the big-time QB but Jaxon Smith-Njigba is a better pound-for-pound player in my book and the impact of his injury was felt.

That being said, Ohio State’s defense looked better and it notched an impressive win that will come in handy throughout the playoff push.

Alabama just needs to finish the regular season undefeated or win the SEC title as a one-loss team. It’s pretty simple.

Ohio State is guaranteed to be a College Football Playoff team as a 12-1 Big Ten champion. Yet, it would get strong consideration as an 11-1 at-large team too, depending on the loss.

If it was to Michigan, in an epic game, Ohio State might not be out of it. There’s potential for two Big Ten teams to make it, but it depends on the ACC, Pac-12, and Big 12 having quality playoff candidates which we’ll cover on the next slide.