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Projecting this week’s College Football Playoff Rankings

Who will see the biggest jump and biggest falls in this week’s CFP rankings?

10 weeks of college football have come and gone in 2021 and although plenty of the preseason favorites have played at or close enough to their preseason expectations to be in the thick of the race (looking at you Georgia, Alabama, Oregon, and Ohio State) for the College Football Playoff, several have not (what’s up Clemson, Florida, Iowa State, and plenty of others?)

What will the second week of the College Football Playoff rankings look like after eight ranked teams fell this past weekend?

Kirk Herbstreit shared his new top-six on Sunday and despite ESPN’s College Gameday being at Cincinnati this past weekend for their homecoming game, Herbstreit dropped them from his top-six after he ranked them fifth a week ago.

That’s only one man’s opinion but it seems like Cincinnati was one of the biggest losers of the weekend despite being victorious. With all of that in mind here is my best guess at what the next set of rankings will look like when they’re revealed on Tuesday night:

There is a scenario where four teams tie at the top of the Big Ten West

This would be pure chaos.

If you’re a fan of college football, you’re probably a fan of chaos. Nowhere else does top teams look unstoppable one week, only to come back the next to lose as massive favorites.

That’s what the Big Ten West has been this season. Wisconsin started slow with a 0-2 in-conference record, though has bounced back with three straight impressive victories.

Iowa looked great to start the year, yet dropped a massive contest at Purdue. Illinois hasn’t looked great in Bret Bielema’s first season, yet it went on the road and beat Penn State. The Big Ten West now has four teams that have a legitimate shot at representing the division in the Big Ten Championship.

Minnesota and Wisconsin control their own destiny. But Iowa and Purdue are far from dead.

Putting away likely outcomes, there is one scenario where all four teams tie atop the division. Wisconsin will end up going to Indy in this scenario thanks to head-to-head records.

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But nothing would more perfectly represent college football than four teams finishing with a 5-3 record atop the west. Here’s that scenario:

Initial Bowl Season projections have Vols slated for New Year’s Day game

Initial Bowl Season projections have Vols slated for New Year’s Day game in Florida.

Tennessee (4-4, 2-3 SEC) will play at Kentucky (6-2, 4-2 SEC) Saturday in Week 10.

Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. EDT and will be televised by ESPN2.

Ahead of Week 10 contests, BowlSeason.com has Tennessee projected to play Iowa in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1, 2022. The Outback Bowl is played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.

Bowl Season’s entire projections can be viewed here.

2021 Tennessee Vols’ football schedule

Sept. 2 Bowling Green (W, 38-6)
Sept. 11 Pittsburgh (L, 41-34)
Sept. 18 Tennessee Tech (W, 56-0)
Sept. 25 at Florida (L, 38-14)
Oct. 2 at Missouri (W, 62-24)
Oct. 9 South Carolina (W, 45-20)
Oct. 16 Ole Miss (L, 31-26)
Oct. 23 at Alabama (L, 52-24)
Nov. 6 at Kentucky
Nov. 13 Georgia
Nov. 20 South Alabama
Nov. 27 Vanderbilt

Follow us at @VolsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of University of Tennessee athletics.

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Bowl projections: Vols slated to play Iowa

Bowl projections: Tennessee is slated to play Iowa

Tennessee (4-4, 2-3 SEC) had an open date in Week 9.

The Vols will play at Kentucky in Week 10. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. EDT and ESPN2 will televise the Southeastern Conference divisional matchup.

Following Week 9, College Football News released its bowl projections.

Tennessee is slated to play Iowa in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl on Dec. 30 in Nashville.

2021 Tennessee Vols’ football schedule

Sept. 2 Bowling Green (W, 38-6)
Sept. 11 Pittsburgh (L, 41-34)
Sept. 18 Tennessee Tech (W, 56-0)
Sept. 25 at Florida (L, 38-14)
Oct. 2 at Missouri (W, 62-24)
Oct. 9 South Carolina (W, 45-20)
Oct. 16 Ole Miss (L, 31-26)
Oct. 23 at Alabama (L, 52-24)
Nov. 6 at Kentucky
Nov. 13 Georgia
Nov. 20 South Alabama
Nov. 27 Vanderbilt

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Notre Dame creeps up in latest USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll

The Irish head north in the Coaches Poll’s newest rankings

The Irish outlasted the Tar Heels of North Carolina and were rewarded by moving up in the latest USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll. Previously just outside the Top-10 at No. 11, Notre Dame moved up three spots to No. 8 after some shake-up inside the poll.

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Michigan State’s comeback over rival Michigan didn’t do them much good in the eyes of the coaches, moving up just one spot to No. 6, still behind one loss Ohio State. The Buckeyes defeated Penn State and remained No. 5 while the Wolverines managed to drop just four spots to No. 10.

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Ole Mis and Iowa tumbled out of the Top-10 with their second loss, while other teams like Baylor, Auburn, and Wake Forest took advantage of teams losing ahead of them and moved up.

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Take a look at the updated Coaches Poll with last weeks ranking in parenthesis.

1 – Georgia (1)

2 – Cincinnati (2)

3 – Alabama (3)

4 – Oklahoma (4)

5 – Ohio State (5)

6 – Michigan State (7)

7 – Oregon (8)

8 – Notre Dame (11)

9 – Wake Forest (13)

10 – Michigan (6)

11 – Oklahoma St. (15)

12 – Texas A&M (14)

13 – Baylor (18)

14 – Auburn (21)

15 – Ole Miss (9)

16 – Iowa (10)

17 – Kentucky (12)

18 – UTSA (22)

19 – Houston (NR)

20 – BYU (NR)

21 – Coastal Carolina (24)

22 – NC State (25)

23 – Penn State (17)

24 – SMU (16)

25 – Pittsburgh (19)

ESPN’s College Game Day make their Notre Dame / UNC pick and more

Game Day makes their selections

ESPN’s College Game Day was in the mitten state, for the Top-10 matchup between rivals Michigan and host Michigan State. For their guest celebrity, they brought in actor, comedian and surprisingly doctor Ken Jeong to make picks along with Desmond Howard, Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit. Find out below who they selected to win today’s games.

Wisconsin vs. Iowa: Staff predictions

The stage is set for Wisconsin and No. 9 Iowa to battle in a game that will define both teams’ seasons, also known as the Big Ten West Bowl.

The Badgers enter the contest coming off a solid 30-13 victory Purdue where the team dominated on the ground, finally forced turnovers and played its best second half of the season.

Iowa, on the other hand, is fresh off a bye week after losing 24-7 to the same Purdue team two weeks ago. After a 6-0 start, the Hawkeyes need a win on Saturday to get back on track and nearly lock up the Big Ten West.

Here are our official predictions for Saturday’s game:

Why Wisconsin wins, why Wisconsin loses Saturday vs. Iowa

Wisconsin and Iowa will take the field Saturday and battle for control of the Heartland Trophy.

Iowa currently holds the trophy thanks to its 28-7 victory last season. The Badgers enter the contest having won 7 of the last 9 meetings, though, including 2019’s 24-22 triumph.

It’s safe to say Iowa’s control of the trophy has not been the norm over the last decade.

The game on Saturday will likely boil down to a few key areas: turnovers, rushing success and time of possession. These two teams are near mirror images of each other, so Wisconsin fans should expect the game to look like what we know as classic, Big Ten football.

After running through where each team has advantages, five keys to victory. one area that may decide the contest and a complete Iowa team preview, here is Why Wisconsin wins, or Why Wisconsin loses tomorrow:

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Wisconsin has an advantage in all but two categories vs. Iowa

Wisconsin and No. 9 Iowa are set for a classic Big Ten battle on Saturday morning.

The total for the game sits at 36.5, a lower number than Wisconsin had in contests against Army and Purdue.

It makes sense, though. The teams are mirror images of each other: stout defenses, inefficient offenses and team mentalities that the defense will be the thing to win the football game.

There’s obviously a few glaring differences in the two teams’ records (Iowa: 6-1, Wisconsin: 4-3) and each team’s ability to hold on to the football (more on that below).

So, to handicap this contest and see where the game will be won or lost, I looked at which team has the advantage in each critical area of the game.

All Betting Lines are Courtesy of Tipico Sportsbook

Visit our free to play game lobby at Daily Ticket, Powered by Tipico Sportsbook

One area of the game that may decide Wisconsin vs. Iowa

When the Wisconsin Badgers take the field against the No. 9 Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday, whichever team wins the turnover battle will likely come out on top.

Iowa has played its way to a ridiculous +12 turnover differential (it was even better before Spencer Petras’ 4-interception day against Purdue) while Wisconsin is near the bottom of the nation with a -8 margin (which was even worse before it forced 5 turnovers against Purdue).

Of all areas of this contest, turnovers is undoubtedly the most important.

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But there’s another area to watch entering Saturday, one which has been a strength of one team while being a weakness of the other: Special teams.

Yes, Wisconsin kicker Collin Larsh has been lights-out this season, connecting on 10 of 12 field goals, and punter Andy Vujnovich has done a fine job. But it’s been a special teams mistake in all of Wisconsin’s losses that ended up turning the tide.

Against Penn State a short field goal was blocked, against Notre Dame a kick return touchdown changed the game and against Michigan a muffed punt gave the Wolverines control of the contest. And that’s not even thinking back to previous seasons, where dropped punts and timely mistakes have cost the Badgers in nearly every important contest.

Iowa, on the other hand, prides itself on one of the strongest special teams cores in the nation. Kicker Caleb Shudank is 11/13 on field goals, Australian punter Tory Taylor averages 46.1 yards per punt including 12 punts of 50+ yards and the coverage teams have been masterful.

In a game with a total as low as 37 and both teams boasting similar levels of defensive dominance and offensive struggles, one or two significant plays can flip field position, hand points to the other team and change the game.

Unfortunately for Wisconsin, the matchup on special teams is a scary one entering the contest.

Contact/Follow us @TheBadgersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin news, notes, opinion and analysis.

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