Nov
06
2022
Last week, I spoke about how a Notre Dame upset of Clemson could spell big trouble for the ACC. Well, Notre Dame delivered, and how. Unfortunately for the ACC, that means both Clemson and North Carolina are well behind the eight-ball in terms of having a CFP-worthy resume. Is there some good news here? Actually, …
Oct
30
2022
This year’s Notre Dame football team is, to put things lightly, an enigma. The Irish opened the season by keeping things very close against Ohio State. Notre Dame played far better against the Buckeyes than any team other than Penn State. The Irish also have some solid wins on the year. Then again, they also …
Sep
25
2022
I started writing at Week 3 this year, and I said the Group of 5 was out of it. Well, now the Group of 5 really is. Cincinnati made the Playoff last year off the back of an incredible season––including a win over Notre Dame and decent chaos in the ACC, Pac 12, and Big …
Dec
05
2021
The games are down, and there are less than 12 hours of waiting for who the selection committee decides to put in the Playoff. We know three of them for sure: Alabama, Michigan, and Cincinnati have locked up their spots in the Playoff. Who will the fourth be? Conventional wisdom is that it will be …
Nov
28
2021
With one week left in the season, we still have nine teams left in Playoff contention. Does that number sound high to you? It shouldn’t. Let’s explain why. First of all, let’s look at the teams: Georgia, Cincinnati, Michigan, Alabama, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Ohio State, Baylor, and Oregon. Do you think Ohio State and …
Nov
22
2021
This has, quite frankly, been the most chaotic season in the CFP’s eight-year history. Perhaps we should have expected it. After all, so many teams are more experienced, given the extra year of eligibility due to COVID. Even so, this year has been wild. Part of the wildness, however, has been the strength at the …
Nov
14
2021
We’ve been waiting seven years for this, but we are finally ready to discuss a Group of 5 school as a serious Playoff contender. And by “serious contender” I don’t just mean that a team has a chance. By “serious contender,” I mean that the Cincinnati Bearcats have the inside track to one of the …
Nov
07
2021
This week saw a ton of upsets. Eight of the CFP selection committee’s Top 25 teams lost this week, including two of the Top 10. Of the 17 teams we had yet to eliminate last week, four lost. And none of those four teams are the sole elimination this week. I touched on this a …
Dec
19
2020
It seems fitting that 2020 will leave us with the most chaotic Selection Sunday of the CFP era. Twice in the CFP era, we’ve had a three-team “bubble” coming out of Conference Championship weekend. In 2014, the fourth spot could have gone to any one of Ohio State, Baylor, or TCU. In 2017, Alabama, Ohio …
Dec
17
2020
#StayHealthy and practice social distancing. The ACC Question of the week is back with our esteemed friend and college football writer @MattZemek, Editor at @TrojansWire . Do yourself a favor and give him a follow on twitter. You can feel and sense the climate of doubt and skepticism surrounding the Notre Dame Fighting Irish this week. The Clemson Tigers are a …
Dec
14
2020
With one week remaining in the college football season, we count 11 teams still alive in the College Football Playoff race. Of course, of those 11 teams, some are in far stronger position than others. This week’s CFP Implications will be very simple: We will run down the 11 teams and what they each need …
Dec
13
2020
As we approach the final weekend of the college football season, we have 11 teams still in the College Football Playoff race. Of those 11, one–Alabama–has likely locked up a Playoff berth already. No matter what happens–barring something insane like a 35-point loss to Florida this weekend–the Crimson Tide will be in the Playoff. Who …
Dec
07
2020
As discussed in CFP Implications this week, there are three basic scenarios for the College Football Playoff right now. If Alabama, Notre Dame, and Ohio State win out, then there are only a few teams in real contention for that fourth spot. If Clemson or Florida wins out, all of the spots are locked up. …
Dec
07
2020
Alabama. Notre Dame. Clemson. Ohio State. As of now, we have four teams that are unquestionably ahead of the pack in the College Football Playoff race. And, if we’re being fully honest, none of the other teams “in the hunt” are particularly close right now. Oh, this group of four has questions about it, certainly. …
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
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 …