College Football Playoff Scenarios (Week 3)
After two weeks of the college football season, there have already been a number of interesting developments. Perhaps nothing was more intriguing from week two’s action than a few close victories by highly ranked teams against weaker competition. A win is a win except when it’s not, and these wins did nothing but hurt the teams’ resumes moving forward.
Teams Eliminated Last Week:
Arkansas (1-1)…if you thought the Razorbacks had an outside chance to begin with.
The Cream of the Crop:
Ohio State (2-0)
Alabama (2-0)
TCU (2-0)
Michigan State (2-0)
Baylor (2-0)
USC (2-0)
On the Outside Looking In:
Auburn (2-0): Auburn won; that cannot be taken away from it. However, a 27-20 overtime victory over Jacksonville State is something far less valuable than a full-blown victory. In fact, it could be argued that such a win is worse for a playoff resume than a close loss against an elite foe. Auburn’s schedule is such that this game will likely be forgotten by November if not sooner, but hopefully the playoff committee remembers to take it into account when balancing excellence at the end of the year.
Notre Dame (2-0): Similarly to Auburn, Notre Dame hung on to beat what should have been a highly outclassed opponent. Worse for the Fighting Irish, though, is that they lost their starting quarterback in the process. With a couple ranked opponents coming up in the next few weeks, we’ll find out right away what Notre Dame’s new ceiling is with DeShone Kizer behind center.
Georgia (2-0): Georgia was the last of the top-10 schools to trudge its way to a sheepish victory in week two. It took a couple terrible throws late by Vanderbilt’s Johnny McCrary for the Bulldogs to grab their double-digit win. Nick Chubb needs some help from his quarterbacks if Georgia is going to win the SEC East.
Interesting Developments:
Oklahoma (2-0): It took a 14-point fourth-quarter comeback and double overtime for the Sooners to vanquish then-number 23 Tennessee. It still remains to be seen however how good of a win this really was. If the Volunteers go on to have a good season in the SEC, this victory will propel Oklahoma back into the discussion of elites in the Big 12. It’s the Sooners’ only chance at a quality out-of-conference win.
Oregon (1-1): The Ducks lost a close one to now-number 4 Michigan State. It is the “best” loss any team has had this season, which means it can be overcome. Oregon isn’t out of the playoff picture just yet, but it will now be squarely behind the Spartans in any and all future discussions.
