College Football Playoff Rankings: How The Top 25 Should Be Done – Top 10
10. Auburn Tigers (6-2)
The Case For This Spot: You like big wins? The College Football Playoff committee sure does, and Auburn just beat both Arkansas and Ole Miss by double-digits, to go along with a win at LSU.
You like hot teams trending up? Four wins in the last five games with the lone loss a forgivable 34-10 defeat at Georgia.
The loss at Penn State might be enough to put the Tigers behind Oklahoma State and Baylor when the rankings come out, but in a tough environment on the road, that probably won’t be punished too much.
Win That Matters: Auburn 31, Ole Miss 20
Loss (or bad performance) That Matters: Penn State 28, Ole Miss 20
Up Next: at Texas A&M
9. Michigan Wolverines (7-1)
The Case For This Spot: The top eight should be relatively set in some order. The ninth spot will be a bit trickier, but the committee isn’t going to beef too much with a close, tough loss on the road to an unbeaten Michigan State. It’ll like the 21-point win at Wisconsin, and in the metrics, the win over Northern Illinois will actually get a little bit of credit.
Win That Matters: Michigan 38, Wisconsin 17
Loss (or bad performance) That Matters: Michigan State 37, Michigan 33
Up Next: Indiana
8. Ohio State Buckeyes (7-1)
The Case For This Spot: The committee is SO going to want to put Ohio State higher than this, but for the first round of the rankings, it can’t. It’s not going to deal with the argument that it shouldn’t be ahead of Oregon – at least for now.
The committee is going to overlove the blowout wins over mediocre teams and the victories over Minnesota and Penn State, but it can’t put the Buckeyes over Oregon – it just can’t.
Win That Matters: Ohio State 33, Penn State 24
Loss (or bad performance) That Matters: Oregon 35, Ohio State 28
Up Next: at Nebraska
7. Oregon Ducks (7-1)
The Case For This Spot: This might be the most hotly debated team in the room. Oregon hasn’t looked the part, but that win …
That one win at Ohio State is going to get more credibility than anything anyone has done, with the possible exception of Cincinnati beating Notre Dame in South Bend. However, the loss to Stanford will be an anchor, and it could end up being used as an excuse for a lower ranking than this.
Win That Matters: Oregon 35, Ohio State 28
Loss (or bad performance) That Matters: Stanford 31, Oregon 24
Up Next: at Washington
6. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-1)
The Case For This Spot: At Florida State, Purdue, Wisconsin, at Virginia Tech, USC, North Carolina. Based on the schedule – and throw in a win over Toledo, too – the committee is going to want to reward the Irish and put them up as high as possible. However, there’s that hard ceiling of Cincinnati they won’t be able to get past.
Win That Matters: Notre Dame 41, Wisconsin 13
Loss (or bad performance) That Matters: Cincinnati 24, Notre Dame 13
Up Next: Navy
5. Cincinnati Bearcats (8-0)
The Case For This Spot: Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Notre Dame. The committee is going to LOVE that win more than just about anything anyone else has done. It’s going to want to rank the Irish high, but can’t put them past the Bearcats. However, the rest of Cincinnati’s schedule is abysmal.
In reality, because of that win over Notre Dame, Cincinnati could start out as high as No. 3, and could be two if the committee adores the Irish schedule that much. However, DO NOT GET COMFORTABLE with that, if it happens. Cincinnati could be top three throughout the whole process and then get yoinked out at the end if there are four viable Power Five champions.
Win That Matters: Cincinnati 24, Notre Dame 13
Loss (or bad performance) That Matters: Cincinnati 27, Navy 20
Up Next: Tulsa
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