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) SEC – 8.5
The SEC has been battling to re-establish itself as the undisputed dominant conference in college football for several seasons now. Sure it’s been good, but not consistently great outside of Alabama in recent years. To their credit the SEC turned back the clock and looked very strong this past weekend.
There was no surprise Alabama ripped Louisville, but Auburn also knocked off the Pac 12’s likely best team Washington. LSU crushed a Miami team that was overrated, but take nothing away from the Tigers. LSU flat rolled in this one. Ole Miss also had easy win against Texas Tech. Tennessee got routed by West Virginia, but the Volunteers will be a bottom tier SEC team.
If Texas A&M beats number 2 Clemson next week, and Mississippi State defeats Kansas State the SEC could further separate itself from the pack.
Playoff Contenders
Alabama, Georgia, Auburn
In the Playoff Picture
LSU
2) Big 10 – 7.7
The Big 10 narrowly avoided a couple of ugly losses to Appalachian State by Penn State and Utah State by Michigan State. Maryland did pick a very nice win over Texas, and Ohio State stomped Oregon State.
Michigan was the lone blemish for the Big 10 losing to Notre Dame.
Next week there are several Big 10 OOC games with other Power 5 conferences – Duke vs Northwestern, Colorado vs Nebraska, Iowa State vs Iowa, Virginia vs Indiana, Penn State vs Pittsburgh, and Michigan State vs Arizona State.
Playoff Contenders
Ohio State, Wisconsin
In the Playoff Picture
Penn State, Michigan State
3) Big 12 – 7.3
Texas losing at Maryland was just a terrible loss for the Big 12. Texas Tech in basically in a home game got blown out by Ole Miss. West Virginia salvaged the weekend by beating a bad Tennessee team. That was something though.
Oklahoma clobbered what was thought to be a decent FAU team. Kansas lost to Nicholls State and might be the worst Power 5 team in the country.
Next week it is Oklahoma vs UCLA, Iowa State vs Iowa, and Kansas State vs Mississippi State.
Playoff Contenders
Oklahoma
In the Playoff Picture
West Virginia, TCU
4) ACC – 7.2
It was not a good start for the ACC. While Louisville losing to Alabama didn’t mean much, Miami getting hammered by LSU was a bad look. Miami was considered by many the Coastal Division favorite, and overrated or not – the Canes were not even competitive.
UNC is probably the worst team in the ACC and lost at California.
Next week if Clemson loses at a Texas A&M, it would be a very severe blow to the conference. That’s a must win. Other games of note – Georgia Tech vs South Florida, Virginia vs Indiana, Northwestern vs Duke, and Penn State vs Pittsburgh.
Playoff Contenders
Clemson
In the Playoff Picture
Virginia Tech
5) Pac 12 – 6.5
The Pac 12 had by far the worst week of any Power 5 conference. Washington lost to Auburn. That was a game the Pac 12 really needed. It only got worse from there.
UCLA lost at home to Cincinnati in Chip Kelly’s debut. Arizona lost at home to BYU too, and Oregon State was destroyed by Ohio State. Cal did beat arguably the ACC’s worst team in UNC.
This week it is : UCLA vs Oklahoma, Arizona St. vs Michigan State, California vs BYU, Colorado vs Nebraska, and Houston vs Arizona
Playoff Contenders
None
In the Playoff Picture
Stanford, Utah, USC
The Rest
Notre Dame got a solid win over Michigan this past weekend. We’ll have to keep an eye on the Irish.
Playoff Contenders
Notre Dame
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 | Alabama | Clemson | Oklahoma
Just Missed – 5) Auburn 6) Georgia 7) Notre Dame 8) Wisconsin
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