While the playoff committee doesn’t rank the power 5 conference, there is no way conference strength – which means OOC results doesn’t figure in to a committee members thought process.
Let me point out on my philosophy on these rankings – your most recent OOC results count a lot, and you’ll see me reference that throughout the season.
We’ll give each conference a relative strength value 1-10.
Let me explain my relative rankings
0-5 : Conference lacks depth no elite teams
6-7: Conference lacks depth, and there are 1-2 elite teams, and 1-2 quality teams
7-8: At least 2 elite teams, and at least 2 quality teams.
8-9: 3 elite teams, and at least 2 quality teams
9-10: 1/2 of conference is elite and/or quality teams.
1) Big 10 – 8.2
Minnesota with stunning win over Penn State moves into the playoff discussion. It was a great win, but I think they will get upset at Iowa this week. Ohio State is in great playoff shape.
Playoff Contenders
Ohio State
In the Playoff Picture
Minnesota
Week 12 Key Games
Minnesota at Iowa
2) SEC – 7.8
South Carolina getting beat by Appalachian State and Arkansas getting blown out by Western Kentucky drops the SEC even further behind the Big 10. As we’ve said all year 1-5 the SEC is great and then there is a massive dropoff. Georgia plays at Auburn this week. They better win or they are out of the playoff chase. LSU looks every bit the playoff team winning at Alabama. In theory, Alabama is still in it but I don’t think their chances are good. They don’t look like a playoff team, and they won’t have the resume to prove it.
Week 12 Key Games
Georgia at Auburn
Playoff Contenders
LSU
In the Playoff Picture
Alabama, Georgia
3) Big 12 – 7.3
Iowa State nearly won at Oklahoma which would have been a crushing blow to the Big 12. The winner of Baylor and Oklahoma moves into the playoff discussion.
Week 10 Key Games
Oklahoma at Baylor
Playoff Contenders
None
In the Playoff Picture
Baylor
4) Pac 12 – 7.0
Oregon and Utah must stay on their collision course. I like a 1 loss Pac 12 champion to get into the playoffs.
Week 10 Key Games
NONE
Playoff Contenders
NONE
In the Playoff Picture
Utah, Oregon
5) ACC – 6.6
Clemson might be playing as well as anyone in the country. They are taking 20 minutes to put away teams. It looked like Wake Forest could be a test this weekend, but it feels like Clemson will just get more practice in.
Week 10 Key Games
NONE
Playoff Contenders
Clemson
In the Playoff Picture
NONE
The Rest
Nothing to talk about here….
Playoff Contenders
NONE
In the Playoff Picture
NONE
My Current Playoff Teams
As my personal criticism of the playoff committee, I don’t think the top 4 seeds order should be released until the final rankings. The playoff committee’s inconsistent and ever changing criteria is causing unnecessary frustration and confusion. It’s one of the improvement points I’d have for them.
If I had a vote this is who I would put in the playoff right now.
In – Ohio State | Oregon | Clemson | LSU
Just Missed – 5) Utah 6) Alabama 7) Minnesota 8 ) Georgia
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