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
Last week was a quiet week in the SEC as the playoff contenders stayed on track.
For this week LSU is at Florida and Auburn is at Mississippi State in a couple of tricky games that could affect those team’s playoff chances.
Playoff Contenders
Alabama, Georgia, LSU
In the Playoff Picture
Auburn
2) Big 12 – 7.4
West Virginia remained a fringe playoff team with a win at Texas Tech. Oklahoma cruised over Baylor.
This week WVU should have no issue with Kansas, but Oklahoma has a big game with resurgent Texas.
Playoff Contenders
Oklahoma
In the Playoff Picture
West Virginia
3) Big 10 – 7.0
Ohio State practically locked up a playoff spot with a win at Penn State. The Big 10 is a 2 team league, and the Buckeyes beat the only team capable of knocking them off.
The Buckeyes playoff tuneup starts this week with Indiana.
Playoff Contenders
Ohio State
In the Playoff Picture
None
4) ACC – 6.6
Thank goodness for the Pac 12. Clemson barely held off Syracuse to keep the ACC’s only playoff contender on track. UCF predictably blew out Pittsburgh and Boston College beat Temple.
If NC State beats Boston College, I may slide them into the playoff picture at 5-0. Clemson travels to Wake Forest.
Virginia Tech hosts Notre Dame in a huge game. If the Hokies win, I could move the ACC past the Big 10. That would be that big of a win.
Playoff Contenders
Clemson
In the Playoff Picture
None
5) Pac 12 – 6.5
The Pac 12 has blown every chance this year for their top teams to make national statements. Stanford went on the road and got blown out by Notre Dame this past week. Washington did pick up a decent win over BYU, but still is struggling to make up the ground from an early season loss to Auburn.
The Pac 12 is basically out of the playoff chase at this point barring Washington running the table, and getting a lot of help elsewhere.
Playoff Contenders
NONE
In the Playoff Picture
Washington
The Rest
Notre Dame routed Stanford, and if they get by Virginia Tech the schedule is pretty soft. UCF is ranked in the top 15 and is undefeated. They’ll never make the playoffs, but they could make the committee squirm a little if they win out.
Playoff Contenders
Notre Dame
In the Playoff Picture
UCF
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) Notre Dame 7) Georgia 8) Auburn
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