College Football Playoff projections after Week 8: Is Alabama officially eliminated?
One of the biggest losses of the weekend came on Saturday evening when the Alabama Crimson Tide lost their second game, this time a road matchup against rival Tennessee.
As Vols fans poured out Neyland Stadium on Saturday, they celebrated their team's victory and what this win will mean for them moving forward in their attempt to get a bid in the College Football Playoff. Alabama fans were feeling much different — angry, disappointed, and full of questions. The biggest question: Was Alabama just eliminated from College Football Playoff contention?
The short answer is no. While the Tide losing two games is not ideal and they'll have to be perfect the rest of the way, they're not out of the race. As a matter of fact, with a 12-team expanded field, it's tough to see many teams that have been officially eliminated as of yet.
As we continue to see fallout from last weekend, here's a look at current projections for the College Football Playoff.
College Football Playoff Projections after Week 8
First-round byes: 1) Georgia, 2) Ohio State, 3) Clemson, 4) Iowa State
Keep in mind, these are projections. Right now, we see Georgia (currently one loss in the SEC) winning out and getting to the SEC Championship, where the Bulldogs will win and enter the playoff as the No. 1 overall seed. Ohio State is projected in this field to get a revenge game against Oregon in the Big Ten Championship and win, locking up the two-seed.
Clemson seems destined for a collision with Miami in the ACC Championship game. Right now, we give an edge to Dabo Swinney over Mario Cristobal. Finally, Iowa State has a favorable schedule the rest of the way — perhaps with the two toughest games coming at the end with Utah and Kansas State — but the Cyclones already possess a 4-0 record in the Big 12 and they're the projection to win the Big 12, at least for now.
Projected first-round matchups:
5) Oregon vs. 12) Boise State
6) Texas vs. 11) Tennessee
7) Miami vs. 10) Texas A&M
8) Penn State vs. 9) BYU
The playoff field is so murky right now, it's honestly tough to project what's going to happen the rest of the way. The SEC will likely continue to cannibalize itself. Looking at the future schedules, it would seem that Texas, Texas A&M, and Tennessee have the best chances of finishing with 10-2 records out of the bunch.
Notre Dame could play a factor in this mix, but something tells us the Fighting Irish may fall at some point this season — perhaps to Navy this weekend — and that would eliminate the Irish from contention.
Out of Big Ten teams, Penn State has a very easy path to the playoff with Ohio State being the only opponent that should challenge the Nittany Lions. Assuming a loss, they'd be 11-1 and likely the second at-large bid from the conference.
Rounding out the field, we have Boise State taking the Group of 5 bid. Army and Navy could potentially have something to say about that, but right now, we'll take the Broncos.
The most interesting Week 9 games with College Football Playoff implications
- (17) Boise State at UNLV (on Friday)
- (12) Notre Dame at (24) Navy
- Washington at (13) Indiana
- (21) Missouri at (15) Alabama
- (5) Texas at (25) Vanderbilt
- (8) LSU at (14) Texas A&M
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