The first College Football Playoff Rankings are set to be released in a little more than a week, and we've got more reason than ever to be excited for what's in store the rest of the way.
With a 12-team field, there are going to be tons of pivotal matchups throughout the month of November, many of which will decide how the playoff field shapes out in December when it's announced.
As we inch closer to those initial rankings and look ahead to Week 10, here's our updated projections for the College Football Playoff field.
First-Round Byes
1) Oregon Ducks
2) Texas A&M Aggies
3) Clemson Tigers
4) BYU Cougars
We're getting a little crazy here heading into November. Texas A&M is still first in the SEC standings and after an impressive win over LSU, the Aggies are firmly in control of their destiny to get to the SEC Championship. The race between one-loss SEC teams is loaded right now, so we're actually goint to take the Aggies to win the SEC. Overreaction much? Maybe. No one here is going to try to convince you that Marcel Reed is ready to win the Heisman, but if Texas A&M can get over the hump against South Carolina, they seem destined to be in Atlanta and it will be interesting to see what a potential Texas A&M-Georgia type matchup could look like.
After seeing Ohio State this weekend, it looks like Oregon is starting to separate itself some from the pack in the Big Ten. The ACC seems to be a two-team race between Miami and Clemson, assuming something crazy doesn't happen. The Tigers get the slightest of advantages here, but it honestly could go either way. The Big 12 is still up for grabs, but BYU is in firm control of its own destiny right now, so they get the fourth spot in our projected field.
First-Round Matchups
5) Georgia vs. 12) Boise State
6) Ohio State vs. 11) Texas
7) Penn State vs. 10) Tennessee
8) Notre Dame vs. 9) Miami
Things can — and most certainly will — change between now and when the actual playoff field is announced, but these are projections and likely how I see things playing out, at least in the scope of this week looking ahead.
If Georgia makes it to the SEC Championship game, but is beaten by Texas A&M, the Bulldogs will have the 5-seed, and we've got them hosting Boise State as the Group of 5 representative. I'm predicting Ohio State to beat Penn State this weekend, but then lose to Oregon in the Big Ten Championship game, giving them the sixth spot against what would be a two-loss Texas, which would have just lost to Texas A&M to close out the year.
Penn State, at 11-1, would come in at No. 7 and would host two-loss Tennessee, whose only loss down the stretch would be to Georgia on the road. Finally, we've got 11-1 Notre Dame hosting 12-1 Miami in that 8 vs. 9 matchup.
On the outside-looking-in
Here's a look at some of the other teams who are just on the outside-looking-in right now, or still have a legitimate path to the playoff:
- Indiana
- Alabama
- LSU
- Iowa State
- Kansas State
- Pittsburgh
- SMU
- Army
Saturday Blitz will continue to keep you updated on the latest developments around the landscape of college football.