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 – 8.2
No changes in the SEC. Alabama beat a ranked Texas A&M team by 22, and still looks like the nation’s best team.
This week the SEC has a pretty blah schedule. I don’t see anything changing the number of SEC playoff contenders.
Playoff Contenders
Alabama, Georgia, LSU
In the Playoff Picture
Auburn
2) Big 12 – 7.4
Army nearly shocked Oklahoma which would have sent shockwaves around the country.
This week West Virginia battles Texas Tech, and Oklahoma plays Baylor.
Playoff Contenders
Oklahoma
In the Playoff Picture
West Virginia
3) Big 10 – 7.0
Rutgers got pounded by Buffalo, and is arguably the worst power 5 team in the country. Purdue got nice 30-13 win over Boston College.
This week in a monster game with playoff implications Ohio State plays Penn State.
Playoff Contenders
Ohio State
In the Playoff Picture
Penn State
4) Pac 12 – 6.7
The Pac 12 didn’t have any OOC games this past week. Stanford and Washington did beat Oregon and Arizona State. That gives the Pac 12 two teams that are in the playoff chase.
The conference has a couple of huge games this week – Stanford vs Notre Dame and BYU vs Washington.
Playoff Contenders
Stanford
In the Playoff Picture
Washington
5) ACC – 6.6
Boston College’s embarrassing loss at winless Purdue was not even the ACC’s worst loss of the week. Virginia Tech as a 29 point favorite was stunned at Old Dominion. When 2 of your 4 highest ranked teams go down in ugly fashion, it is hard to argue for a higher placement of the ACC. Wake Forest was blown by Notre Dame too.
Temple plays Boston College, and Pittsburgh faces UCF this week. .
Clemson takes on Syracuse. The Tigers are the conference’s only playoff contender.
Playoff Contenders
Clemson
In the Playoff Picture
None
The Rest
Notre Dame destroyed Wake Forest this past weekend. If the they beat Stanford, they are certainly in the playoff mix.
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 | LSU
Just Missed – 5) Oklahoma 6) Stanford 7) Georgia 8) Penn State
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