Top 10 College Football Playoff contenders after Week 9

6. TCU

TCU avoided an upset at the hands of West Virginia as Max Duggan had another Heisman-Trophy caliber performance.

The Horned Frogs might not have the best game control but they are 8-0 and have beaten four ranked opponents (at the time of the game). TCU beat Kansas State, which turned around and knocked off Oklahoma State 48-0.

At this point, whether people like it or not, TCU controls its own destiny. Imagine Georgia wins out, along with say Ohio State and Clemson. That would leave four Power-5 conference champions unbeaten and in that scenario, I see them all making the College Football Playoff.

I just don’t see a one-loss team that isn’t a conference champion moving ahead of an undefeated power-5 program, regardless of the conference of each team.

5. Clemson

You can see the argument above for why Clemson football fans don’t need to worry. The Tigers just need to keep winning and they will make the playoff. That’s even more true now that Notre Dame is likely to be ranked in the top 25 this week.

The Irish have beaten Syracuse and North Carolina on the road. The Irish have suffered a couple of bad losses, but a win in South Bend will still help Clemson’s resume.

So will North Carolina if it keeps winning. That being said, as long Clemson doesn’t lose, it won’t have anything to worry about.