We break down the 12 teams remaining in the College Football Playoff race, as our Eliminator took out three more teams in Week 12.
Teams Eliminated
Any Group of 5 team that loses a game is out. Power 5 teams usually require more explanation, which I will try to provide.
Week 12:
| Team: |
Notes: |
| Auburn |
Eliminated with third loss, even though all three are close and to good teams. |
| Florida |
The two-loss resume is decent, but not enough high-end wins, especially after playing two FCS teams. Needs the SEC Championship Game to add to resume, and Georgia just clinched the SEC East. |
| Michigan |
Has a chance at a really good two-loss resume, but will almost certainly need a fourth good win to overcome ugly Wisconsin loss. After being eliminated from the Big Ten East race, there’s no chance of that now. |
Week 11:
| Team: |
Notes: |
| Iowa |
Lost three close games to ranked teams, but three-loss teams can’t make the Playoff. |
| Kansas State |
Eliminated with third loss. |
| Wake Forest |
With two losses, Wake Forest has no resume, even with a potential win over Clemson. There’s just no meat on this resume to offset two losses. |
Week 10:
| Team: |
Notes: |
| Appalachian State |
Eliminated with Week 10 loss to Georgia Southern |
| SMU |
Eliminated with Week 10 loss to Memphis |
Week 9:
| Team: |
Notes: |
| Iowa State |
Losses have been close and to good teams, but eliminated with three. |
| Missouri |
Eliminated with third loss. |
| Notre Dame |
Eliminated after blowout loss to Michigan. Blowout nature of the loss was enough to knock the Irish out, but there’s also not enough meat on the resume this year to overcome two losses. |
| Pittsburgh |
Eliminated with third loss. |
| Texas |
Eliminated with third loss. Probably should have been eliminated after almost losing to Kansas. |
Week 8:
| Team: |
Notes: |
| Arizona State |
There just isn’t enough strength in the Pac 12 to get a two-loss champion in the Playoff this yer, and the Michigan State win hasn’t held up. |
| Boise State |
Eliminated with Week 8 loss to BYU. |
| Duke |
Probably could have eliminated them with two losses, but I let the fact that one was to Alabama keep them in. Definitely eliminated with a third. |
| Louisville |
Missed its shot against Clemson, and eliminated with third loss |
| N.C. State |
No amount of chaos can allow a team with three losses in the Playoff. |
| TCU |
No amount of chaos can allow a team with three losses in the Playoff. |
Week 7:
| Team: |
Notes: |
| Arizona |
Poor loss to Hawaii plus blowout loss to Washington. Not enough potential good wins on this resume to overcome those two. |
| Florida State |
No amount of chaos can allow a team with three losses in the Playoff. |
| Memphis |
Eliminated with Week 7 loss to Temple |
| Michigan State |
No amount of chaos can allow a team with three losses in the Playoff. |
| Mississippi State |
No amount of chaos can allow a team with three losses in the Playoff. |
| Texas A&M |
No amount of chaos can allow a team with three losses in the Playoff. |
| USC |
No amount of chaos can allow a team with three losses in the Playoff. |
| Virginia |
Missed its shot against Notre Dame and picked up a second loss. Not enough potential strength on resume to overcome two losses. |
| Washington |
Wins over Hawaii, BYU, and USC lost luster. Not enough potential good wins left this season to overcome two losses. |
Week 6:
| Team: |
Notes: |
| California |
Win over Washington isn’t as valuable anymore. Lost its shot against Oregon, and win over Ole Miss won’t be enough to overcome that. |
| Colorado |
Ohio State sucked any value out of the win over Nebraska, and the loss to Air Force isn’t good. Potential win over Washington isn’t as meaningful anymore. |
| Illinois |
Eliminated with three losses, but I probably could have eliminated the Illini with just two. |
| Oklahoma State |
Missed its shot against Texas, no noteworthy nonconference wins, and loss to Texas Tech is too much. Even a potential two wins over Oklahoma won’t make this a Playoff resume. |
| Washington State |
Two bad losses (one because it was to UCLA, one because it was a blowout) and not enough potential quality wins end this season’s hopes. |
| West Virginia |
Actually has a decent potential resume, but blowout nature of loss to Missouri means the Mountaineers could not survive a second loss. |
Week 5:
| Team: |
Notes: |
| Boston College |
A combination of few chances for ranked wins in the ACC plus an ugly loss to Kansas means that the Eagles are eliminated earlier than a similar resume would be in other years. |
| Indiana |
Couldn’t beat either Ohio State or Michigan State, and the blowout nature of the Ohio State loss will keep Indiana out, even if the Hoosiers miraculously win the Big Ten. |
| Kentucky |
No amount of chaos can allow a team with three losses in the Playoff. |
| Maryland |
The blowout nature of the Penn State loss will keep Maryland out of the Playoff, even if the Terrapins miraculously win the Big Ten. |
| Mississippi |
No amount of chaos can allow a team with three losses in the Playoff. |
| Navy |
Eliminated with Week 5 loss to Memphis |
| Nebraska |
Eliminated due to blowout nature of loss against Ohio State |
| North Carolina |
No amount of chaos can allow a team with three losses in the Playoff. |
| Northwestern |
No amount of chaos can allow a team with three losses in the Playoff. |
| Oregon State |
No amount of chaos can allow a team with three losses in the Playoff. |
| Purdue |
No amount of chaos can allow a team with three losses in the Playoff. |
| Rutgers |
Eliminated due to blowout loss to Michigan. |
| Texas Tech |
Eliminated due to blowout loss to Oklahoma |
| UAB |
Eliminated with Week 5 loss to Western Kentucky |
| Virginia Tech |
Eliminated due to blowout loss to Duke. |
Week 4:
| Team: |
Notes: |
| Air Force |
Eliminated with Week 4 loss to Boise State |
| Arkansas |
Eliminated with embarrassing loss to San Jose State in Week 4 |
| Kansas |
Eliminated due to a combination of losses to Coastal Carolina and West Virginia, plus a general current lack of respect. |
| San Diego State |
Eliminated with Week 4 loss to Utah State |
| South Carolina |
No amount of chaos can allow a team with three losses in the Playoff. |
| Stanford |
No amount of chaos can allow a team with three losses in the Playoff. |
| Temple |
Eliminated with Week 4 loss to Buffalo |
| Tennessee |
No amount of chaos can allow a team with three losses in the Playoff. |
| UCF |
Eliminated with Week 4 loss to Pitt |
| Vanderbilt |
No amount of chaos can allow a team with three losses in the Playoff. |
| Wyoming |
Eliminated with Week 4 loss to Tulsa |
Week 3:
| Team: |
Notes: |
| Georgia State |
Eliminated with Week 3 loss to Western Michigan |
| Georgia Tech |
Any Power 5 team that loses to an FCS team is out. Georgia Tech lost to The Citadel in Week 3. |
| Hawaii |
Eliminated with Week 3 loss to Washington |
| Miami (Fl) |
Only likely ranked team the rest of the season is Virginia. No meaningful wins, and incredibly unlikely to find more than one in ACC Coastal. |
| New Mexico |
Eliminated with Week 3 loss to Notre Dame |
| Syracuse |
Two blowout losses. No currently-ranked teams remaining on schedule, and quite possible that no one else will earn a ranking. Just no resume left. |
| Troy |
Eliminated with Week 3 loss to Southern Miss |
| UCLA |
Eliminated with 0-3 start. |
Next … Group of 5 Eliminations from Weeks 1 and 2
Pages: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4
