Dec
01
2020
As I discussed in CFP Implications this week, we can start to pin down some scenarios. All of those scenarios right now assume that Alabama and Ohio State win out, and that Notre Dame wins out until at least the ACC Championship Game. If Clemson and Florida each win out, we could be looking at …
Nov
30
2020
Most years the college football world runs gets ahead of itself anointing the top teams too early in the season. Chaos always comes, and the elites always trip up eventually. Top teams do make their way through the seasons, but we very often have a different set of top teams in Week 12 than we …
Nov
24
2020
We had a lot of questions coming into the first CFP selection committee rankings this year. After all, 2020 is one of the strangest seasons in modern college football, because of the lack of an organized schedule and teams starting the year at different points. How would the committee judge different number of games …
Nov
23
2020
One of the hallmarks of my Eliminator series is that I never want to un-eliminate a team. Some years, that leads to waiting a few extra weeks to eliminate questionable teams. This year, though, it’s causing a serious problem. I have 24 teams still alive, and barring some surprising upsets, there’s no real path to …
Nov
23
2020
In a week where several Playoff contenders once again missed games, the Big Ten took center stage. The undefeated teams in each division faced off, with Northwestern stopping Wisconsin and Ohio State surviving Indiana’s comeback attempt. What does this mean for the Big Ten in terms of Playoff bids? Well, two bids doesn’t look to …
Nov
19
2020
This week has presented me with some interesting dilemmas, some that are unique even for this year. Let’s look at Maryland as a case study. The Maryland Terrapins are 2-1 with a blowout loss to Northwestern. Their only potential path to the Playoff remaining is winning the Big Ten Championship Game, with a win over …
Nov
18
2020
Not much changed this week in the College Football Playoff race because not too many games were played, especially among the top contenders. Alabama, Ohio State, and Texas A&M all had games canceled due to COVID-19. (It seems noteworthy, at least, that all three were canceled because of outbreaks among their opponents, not on their …
Nov
10
2020
2020 has been a weird year for everyone, for lots of reasons. And it has certainly thrown the Eliminator for a loop. I’m sure, when Selection Sunday comes, it will provide a unique and odd set of circumstances for the selection committee also. This week, I want to discuss what to do with the Pac …
Nov
09
2020
Since early in the year, it’s been obvious that there would likely be one of the four College Football Playoff bids up for grabs. The SEC is almost certainly getting a bid. The ACC is almost certainly getting a bid–we had assumed that one would be Clemson, but now Notre Dame has the inside track. …
Nov
02
2020
Only once before in the history of the College Football Playoff have I ever eliminated the defending National Champions. In 2015, I eliminated the Ohio State Buckeyes after the final weekend of the season. Ohio State didn’t quite have the resume, and there were four clearly obvious Playoff picks that year. In every other season …
Nov
02
2020
From early in the season, when the Big 12 was clearly struggling, I’ve been mentioning the AAC somewhere in a group of teams in line for a Playoff bid. As the season has progressed, it became obvious that Cincinnati was the only AAC team in the picture. Still, with tons of teams playing and all …
Oct
28
2020
This week saw a few more eliminations than I expected, particularly because the Big 12 is rapidly trending towards no teams remaining. Oklahoma State is still undefeated, and the Cowboys will make the Playoff if that keeps up, but outside of Stillwater the Big 12’s hopes are in trouble. The conference’s only other one-loss team …
Oct
28
2020
I was ready to write this post on Sunday, looking at the action from the SEC and Big 12. And, of course, the return of the Big Ten. Ohio State looked like a potential Playoff contender. Wisconsin, Michigan, and maybe Northwestern looked like potential contenders. And Cincinnati and BYU both made pushes for potential for …
Oct
21
2020
It’s not the ACC’s fault that eliminations in the conference are coming more rapidly than everywhere else. Most Big 12 teams are basically done for, but actual eliminations have been staved off by fortuitous splitting of losses plus a few COVID-related delayed games. The Big Ten and Pac 12 haven’t started playing yet. And numerous …
Oct
19
2020
The Big Ten hasn’t started to play yet. Looking at how the season has gone so far in each of the Power 5 conferences that have begun play already, maybe the Big Ten should be happy about that. There is one word that can describe the football season so far for each conference. Big 12: …
Oct
15
2020
I know I’m late on the Eliminator this week. In all honesty, it’s because I’ve had a crazy week. But I’m definitely happy to pretend I was waiting for Wednesday night’s game between Coastal Carolina and Louisiana. With the result of that game, by the way, the Sun Belt has been the second conference fully …