College Football Playoff Rankings: How The Top 25 Should Be Done, Top 10
10. Alabama Crimson Tide (7-2)
College Football Playoff Ranking, Week 1: 6
The Case For This Spot: It took two walk off plays on the road in epic battles for the Tide to lose twice – and LSU and Tennessee are and will be rewarded for it. There isn’t a great win of any sort – Texas is okay – and the team has been shaky, but sliding in behind LSU is about right.
Win That Matters: Alabama 20, Texas 19
Loss (or bad performance) That Matters: LSU 32, Alabama 31
Up Next: at Ole Miss
9. LSU Tigers (7-2)
College Football Playoff Ranking, Week 1: 10
The Case For This Spot: The College Football Playoff committee loves, loves, LOVES Alabama. Beat the Tide, get rewarded. LSU got a nice ranking in the first round thanks to the blowout win over Ole Miss, but that was a bit high – getting rocked at home by Tennessee and losing to Florida State matters. The FSU loss is enough to keep the Tigers from needing to move up higher.
Win That Matters: LSU 32, Alabama 31
Loss (or bad performance) That Matters: Florida State 24, LSU 23
Up Next: at Arkansas
8. USC Trojans (8-1)
College Football Playoff Ranking, Week 1: 9
The Case For This Spot: For now, the defense hasn’t been impressive enough to deserve anything higher than this, but it doesn’t matter. It’s all there for the taking. Even more than Oregon or anyone else in the Pac-12, USC actually has the easiest path to get into the College Football Playoff. If it goes 12-1 with a Pac-12 title and the lone loss a 43-42 fight at Utah, that’s just fine. However, the best win is against … Washington State? Oregon State?
Win That Matters: USC 17, Oregon State 14
Loss (or bad performance) That Matters: Utah 43, USC 42
Up Next: Cal
7. UCLA Bruins (7-1)
College Football Playoff Ranking, Week 1: 12
The Case For This Spot: The Bruins should slide right in behind wherever Oregon is ranked. The win over Washington was good, the double-digit victory over Utah was great, and the lone loss coming at Oregon is totally acceptable.
Win That Matters: UCLA 42, Utah 32
Loss (or bad performance) That Matters: Oregon 45, UCLA 30
Up Next: Arizona
6. Oregon Ducks (8-1)
College Football Playoff Ranking, Week 1: 8
The Case For This Spot: The Ducks have been as impressive as anyone in America after the Week 1 debacle against Georgia. That includes handing UCLA its only loss. There’s been one competitive game – 44-41 over Washington State – and even that’s a bit misleading with a late score making it relatively close. The offense put up 41 points or more in eight straight games.
Win That Matters: Oregon 45, UCLA 30
Loss (or bad performance) That Matters: Georgia 49, Oregon 3
Up Next: Washington
5. TCU Horned Frogs (9-0)
College Football Playoff Ranking, Week 1: 7
The Case For This Spot: It’ll be assumed that TCU ends up in the No. 4 spot as one of the four unbeaten teams remaining, but the overall resumé isn’t as good as Tennessee’s. The Horned Frogs have been good, but the best win so far was against … Kansas State? Kansas? Oklahoma? All good, but nothing special. However, before fretting about where TCU might be ranked, it’s this simple – it’s absolutely 100% in the College Football Playoff if it goes unbeaten.
Win That Matters: TCU 38, Kansas Stat e28
Loss (or bad performance) That Matters: TCU 42, SMU 34
Up Next: at Texas
College Football Playoff: Helping The Committee With The Top 25
Top 4 | 6-10 | 11-15 | 16-20 | 21-25
Bowl Projections | CFN Rankings 1-131 | Rankings by Conference
AP Poll | Coaches Poll | Predicting CFP Top 25
Bowl Bubble: Bowl eligible teams, who needs a win?
Ranking the 12 teams realistically in the CFP hunt