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
Florida jumped into the playoff chase with a surprising win over Auburn. Now they head to LSU. Can the Gators knock them off too?
Auburn has the quality win over Oregon, and the Florida win just proves the SEC’s depth 1-5.
Alabama heads to a strangely ranked Texas A&M this week too.
Week 6 Key Games
Florida at LSU
Playoff Contenders
LSU, Alabama, Georgia, Florida
In the Playoff Picture
NONE
2) Big 10 – 8.0
Penn State heads on the road to face the always tricky Iowa Hawkeyes. Wisconsin could get a test at home from Michigan State.
Playoff Contenders
Ohio State, Wisconsin, Penn State
In the Playoff Picture
NONE
Week 6 Key Games
Penn State at Iowa
Michigan State at Wisconsin
3) Big 12 – 7.5
Oklahoma vs Texas this week could decide the Big 12. A Texas win could an interesting scenario with a 1 loss SEC team, since Texas lost at home to LSU.
It’s probably better for the Big 12 if Oklahoma wins.
Week 6 Key Games
Texas vs Oklahoma
Playoff Contenders
Oklahoma
In the Playoff Picture
NONE
4) ACC – 6.8
Is Clemson ready to rebound after their very shaky win UNC 2 weeks ago? They play a decent Florida State team this week.
Wake Forest will try to remain undefeated and move to 6-0 against Louisville.
Week 6 Key Games
Florida State at Clemson
Playoff Contenders
Clemson
In the Playoff Picture
NONE
5) Pac 12 – 6.7
If USC wins at Notre Dame this week, I’ll move the Pac 12 ahead of the ACC. Oregon is the Pac 12’s highest ranked team at 13. Until they get into the top 10, you can’t even think about them and the playoffs.
Week 6 Key Games
USC at Notre Dame
Playoff Contenders
NONE
In the Playoff Picture
NONE
The Rest
Notre Dame can’t have a hiccup against USC at home.
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 | Alabama | Clemson | Georgia
Just Missed – 5) LSU 6) Oklahoma 7) Florida 8 ) Wisconsin
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