After a crazy weekend of college football, the new playoff rankings are out, seeing 2 new teams while 2 teams playoff hopes came to a halt. With only 2 games left before playoffs and conference championships start, this could be a pretty accurate ranking of what the final form will be.
1. Alabama Crimson Tide (10-0)
Alabama survived a scare in Mississippi this week in a tight game against the #16 ranked Bulldogs. A game that had fans on the edge of their seat until the final whistle. Alabama was down 21-17 headed into the fourth quarter, then managed to put up 2 majors, one of them coming with 25 seconds left in the ball game. Down 7, Miss. St tried to come back up the field, but ended up missing 2 hail mary attempts. Alabama has the FCS Mercer Bears this week, then they wrap up they’re regular season with #6 Auburn, who is coming off a dominating victory against former #1 Georgia last week. Alabama should finish out this schedule 12-0, looking to win a 4th straight SEC Championship. That is, unless Auburn can do something about that. Expect the Iron Bowl to have a little extra meaning this year.
2. Clemson Tigers (9-1)
The Clemson Tigers come off a convincing win against FSU last week. I don’t necessarily think that Clemson deserves to be quite this high up their yet. The loss they took to unranked (4-6) Syracuse weeks ago seems to be overlooked, and their strength of schedule this year wasn’t particularly challenging. Other than beating Auburn by a touchdown in week 2, they have coasted to where they are now, playing well enough to get the job done. Clemson finishes with The Citadel in the FCS this week, followed by South Carolina after that. With #3 Miami also in the playoff top 4 right now, the ACC Championship will be a game to watch with big implications as well.
3. Miami Hurricanes (9-0)
Miami seems to have found their swagger again, capping off the “Catholics vs Convicts” game last week with a win over Notre Dame that showcased a clinic put on by the Miami defence. They managed to get their hands on the ball 4 different times with 3 INT’s and a fumble recovery. With the gritty part of their schedule finished, Miami should win out their schedule with ease, finishing with Virginia and Pitt. The ACC championship is already set, seeing Miami vs Clemson, a game that will most likely see one team stay in the playoffs, and one teams hopes shattered.
4. Oklahoma Sooners (9-1)
The Oklahoma Sooners may be one of the hottest teams in college football right now. A lot of people expected the game against TCU to be a lot closer then it was. With Heisman favourite Baker Mayfield playing lights out, it’s going to take something extra to keep that offence stalling. Finishing off the year with an abysmal 1-9 Kansas team, and a hit and miss West Virginia squad, I can see Oklahoma making a push to get higher up in this top
The Rest
5. Wisconsin
6. Auburn
7. Georgia
8. Notre Dame
9. Ohio State
10. Penn State
11. USC
12. TCU
13. Oklahoma State
14. Washington State
15. UCF
16. Mississippi State
17. Michigan State
18. Washington
19. NC State
20. LSU
21. Memphis
22. Stanford
23. Northwestern
24. Michigan
25. Boise State
