What It All Means: Week 6
The College Football Playoff chase is more exciting than you probably think it is.
The problem over the CFP era is the fun new-blood outlier teams often get annihilated.
Cincinnati, Michigan, Michigan State, Washington – they got t-shirts. All of the top teams have had rough games where nothing worked – Bama, Clemson, Ohio State all know what that’s like.
It’s about getting there. It’s about the honor of being in the final four and getting that one shot with … no, I won’t break into the schmaltz basketball uses to pump up moments that shine.
And with that said, it’s not even expanded yet, and we’re in a better College Football Playoff race than you might think.
All of a sudden, Alabama doesn’t seem like its a mortal lock. It’s not playing great, and the remaining schedule would turn most teams into a quivering pile of goo.
Georgia has looked vulnerable for moments over the past few weeks, Ohio State is starting to count up the various big injuries to key players and Michigan isn’t exactly representing its best work lately.
So what does this all mean? Look elsewhere.
College Football Week 6 Roundup
CFN 1-131 Rankings | Rankings by Conference
Bowl Projections | Week 6 Scoreboard
Week 6 Early Lines | AP Rankings | Coaches Poll
What 12-Team Playoff Would Look Like
Top 10 Hot Seat Coach Rankings
There’s nothing for the College Football Playoff from the Group of Five, but the Pac-12 has a slew of teams alive and in the race.
Oregon made it through the brutal Week 1 loss to Georgia to look like the best team in the Pac-12, if it’s not unbeaten UCLA or USC.
The Big 12 will eat itself, but Clemson is starting to put it together, and the Big Ten has a real shot at getting two teams in if Michigan and Ohio State are both 11-0 going into their late showdown.
Without getting too crazy, you could make a case for roughly 15 teams out there to be on the CFP radar, and they all have a path.
UCLA, Oklahoma State, Tennessee, and Penn State. Could we get four new teams? Probably not, but after all the twists and turns this last week, don’t just assume Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State, and Clemson is a sure-thing foursome to make the College Football Playoff.
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– Winners & Losers Passing games, interim coaches
– Alabama struggled again One Really Big Thing
– Texas blew out Oklahoma Most Overrated Thing
– Quarterback injuries Most Underrated Thing