College football is the gift that keeps on giving. This weekend threw another wrench into the playoff picture, as yet another undefeated team bit the dust. With so many one loss teams in the playoff picture, things are going to be very interesting when it comes to who the committee puts in and leaves out. All I can say is, I’m glad I’m not the one making the decisions this year.
Who’s In?
- Mississippi State
The Bulldogs notched another W on the road this week in Lexington, but it wasn’t without some struggles. I wondered how Mississippi State would respond to being the hunted and Kentucky gave them all they could handle. MSU’s defense took some lumps, but due to Josh Robinson and Dak Prescott, they came out on top in a shootout.
- Florida State Seminoles
After a thriller in Tallahassee last week, the Noles enjoyed a bye week before heading for a matchup with Louisville. If you are looking for a possible upset alert, this is it. Louisville boasts one of the best defenses in the country and it’s not a walk in the park beating them at the house. The good thing for FSU is that they had an extra week to get well and prepare for the Cardinals.
- Alabama Crimson Tide
The Tide rolled into Knoxville and took care of business with the Volunteers over the weekend. Amari Cooper is the best wide receiver in the country and it seems that Blake Sims has settled in nicely as the trigger man in the offense. Looking ahead in a couple of weeks, the Mississippi State Bulldogs roll into town for a matchup that will shake up the playoff picture once again. The Tide lost their left tackle Cameron Robinson to a high ankle sprain this weekend; those injuries can keep you out of commission for awhile and they are going to need him on the back half of this schedule.
- Oregon Ducks
Sorry SEC fans, I am putting the Ducks back in the playoff picture as of today. People will argue about their loss at home to Arizona, but those who have been paying attention will realize that Arizona is a Top 15 team and is still on the rise. Arizona got Oregon when they were virtually depleted upfront on the offensive line due to injuries, and even then, Oregon still had a shot to win the game at the end. The Ducks have battled back and put some solid wins together and have a chance to finally get over the hump against Stanford, who seems to be offensively challenged this year, on Saturday. After Stanford, the toughest game remaining will be a trip to Utah to take on the Utes. The Ducks are sitting in a great spot since teams ranked ahead of them will end up cannibalizing themselves.
Who’s Out?
- Notre Dame
Just like with Oregon, the Fighting Irish just need to take care of business and win out. If they do that, they have a great chance of making it into the playoff with teams above them canceling each other out. Their only loss came on the road in a thriller against Florida State.
- Auburn
Auburn got into a shootout with the Jekyll and Hyde Gamecocks of South Carolina over the weekend. While they have a case for the Top 4 right now, I have them on the outside looking in. I think this team drops at least one more this year with Ole Miss, Alabama and Georgia still on the schedule and all of those games are on the road.
- Ole Miss
The Rebels took their first loss of the season over the weekend against LSU down in Death Valley. I said over the weekend that Death Valley was a very tough place to get a win in at night and the Bayou Bengals proved me right with a big upset. While the Ole Miss defense played extremely well, Bo Wallace proved why more people can’t buy in to him and his inconsistent play. The Landshark defense will keep this team in every game they play this year, but Wallace and the offense have to play better with Auburn and MSU still on the schedule.
Afterthoughts
I said at the very beginning of the season that there wouldn’t be any teams that made it through the season undefeated, thus making the playoff picture very cloudy for the committee. With four weeks left in the regular season, we only have two teams left undefeated (MSU and FSU) and we have plenty of teams who have cases for making it into the playoffs. One of my other predictions was that two SEC teams would make it into the playoff and with the way things have shaken out over the past few weeks, that prediction looks pretty good at this juncture as well. Buckle up and hang on folks, because we are heading for a wild finish to the regular season.