College Football Playoff Race: Week 10
As the College Football Playoffs are getting near, the selection committee has released their first rankings.
On Tuesday the committee announced that the current top four are Georgia, Alabama, Michigan State, and Oregon respectively. Ohio State and Cincinnati were the first two teams outranked at fifth and sixth respectively.
Of the teams in the current top four, only two of the teams are undefeated, those being Georgia and Michigan State.
Here’s a closer look at each team.
Georgia has undoubtedly been the best all-around team this season. Their defense is arguably one of the best ever only allowing 6.6 points per game.
The Bulldogs have been destroying teams every week and look to be a surefire lock for the playoffs.
With the tough part of their schedule behind them, the rest of the season should be a breeze for this team, and they should cruise into the playoffs with a perfect record.
Despite their upset loss to Texas A&M, Alabama was ranked as the highest team with a loss in the CFP at No. 2.
Its quarterback, Bryce Young has been in the Heisman race all season throwing for almost 2500 yards.
Alabama still has a huge test ahead of them in the form of No. 13 Auburn in its final game of the regular season.
As long as the Crimson Tide can avoid another upset and beat Auburn, they should be in good shape to make the playoffs.
The second undefeated team in the top four and the highest-ranked team in the Big 10, is Michigan State.
The Spartans have undoubtedly been a surprise to many this season.
The Spartans are ranked third currently, much in part to their elusive running back, Kenneth Walker III. Walker is averaging 6.8 yards per carry and has 14 touchdowns on the campaign.
The Spartans, still have to play one team that could make or break their playoff hopes, Ohio State.
The Spartans will have to play in the hostile environment of the Horseshoe, which will be more than difficult.
This game will surely be the game of the week to watch as it will more than likely decide one of the teams for the playoffs.
If the Spartans can escape Columbus with a win, then they will be on their way to a spot in the playoffs.
The Oregon Ducks come in at number four on the committee’s ranking list event with one loss on the year to Stanford.
The Ducks burst into the playoff race in the second week when they were able to upset Ohio State on the road in Week two.
Besides Ohio State, the Ducks haven’t played against any ranked teams and it doesn’t look like they will for the remainder of the season.
The Ducks have a less impressive resume than the other teams in the top four currently and are the most likely team currently in the top four to not be there when the final playoff seeding is decided.
Don’t be surprised if there’s a lot of shuffling at the No. 4 spot in the coming weeks.
With only four weeks left until the end of the regular season, these rankings are sure to change a lot.
That fourth spot will easily be the most contested as some of the teams behind Oregon have much better resumes than they do.
One thing’s for sure, this will be an interesting four weeks of college football.
Ethan Ellis is a first-year student studying Broadcast Journalism. To contact him, please email him at ece5133@psu.edu
