No. 5 Georgia sent a message on Saturday that perhaps some of us have written them off too soon after the Bulldogs went into Austin and knocked off No. 1 Texas 30-15 in a game that was not as close as the score would indicate.
The result of that game now has Georgia sitting as the projected No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff field, replacing the Longhorns. Texas, meanwhile, has dropped to sixth behind Oregon. The Ducks, a 35-0 winner over Purdue on Friday, may replace Texas as the No. 1 team in the polls this week, for what that's worth.
No. 7 Alabama fell at No. 11 Tennessee 24-17 and dropped to the No. 8 seed in the projected CFP bracket.
I have said all along that Tennessee would have to beat either Alabama or Georgia to earn a CFP berth, but with Texas A&M still in play, the Volunteers may very well have to beat Georgia when they travel to Athens on Nov. 16. We should have a better idea whether that is must-win for the Vols by then.
The Big Ten has some unusual names fighting for spots in the CFP as well but are not projected to a berth just yet. No. 22 Illinois knocked off No. 24 Michigan 21-7 to end any hopes for the Wolverines to repeat as national champions. No. 16 Indiana is off to a 7-0 start for just the second time in its history, but a soft schedule could keep the Hoosiers out of CFP contention even at 11-1, assuming that loss comes at Ohio State. Indiana could win 11 games but none against an opponent with more than seven wins. The Hoosiers could possibly overcome that, but it depends on the competition.
College Football Playoff
Quarterfinals
| Date | Game / Location | Projection |
|---|---|---|
Jan. 1 | Sugar Bowl | (1) Georgia vs. (8/9) Winner |
Jan. 1 | Rose Bowl | (2) Ohio State vs. (7/10) Winner |
Jan. 1 | Fiesta Bowl | (4) Iowa State vs. (5/12) Winner |
Dec. 31 | Peach Bowl | (3) Miami vs. (6/11) Winner |
First round
| Date | Location | Projection | Winner faces |
|---|---|---|---|
Dec. 20 or 21 | Autzen Stadium | (5) Oregon vs. (12) Boise State | (4) Miami |
Dec. 20 or 21 | Bryant-Denny Stadium | (8) Alabama vs. (9) BYU | (1) Texas |
Dec. 20 or 21 | Darrell K. Royal Memorial Stadium | (6) Texas vs. (11) Texas A&M | (3) Utah |
Dec. 20 or 21 | Beaver Stadium | (7) Penn State vs. (10) Clemson | (2) Ohio State |
The CFP Selection Committee will have its hands full sorting through teams' schedules this season. It is more likely than ever that some teams will get passed over for other teams with worse records because of the widely varying strength of conference schedules in the major conferences.
Army and Navy are both in the rankings for the first time since 1960, and now that both are AAC members are on a collision course to potentially play each other for the conference championship and a possible CFP berth. In that scenario, the decision as to whether the conference champion is selected for the CFP would be made prior to the regular-season Army vs. Navy game on Dec. 14. Since all the bowl bids would have gone out by then as well, that game will have no impact on the postseason.
One thing to keep in mind, though, is that Army and Navy each still have to play Notre Dame. An 11-1 champion which lost to the Fighting Irish is not likely to edge out a 12-1 Mountain West champion Boise State for a CFP spot. Navy will face Notre Dame next Saturday.
The new polls have not been released at time of publish, but barring a surprise, we should have four games between ranked teams next week, including two more in the SEC. LSU visits Texas A&M with the winner taking another step forward to a possible CFP berth, while Alabama looks to get back on track when it hosts Missouri.
Don't see your team? Check out Jerry Palm's complete bowl projections.
