Sep
26
2021
Is it dishonest to use Clemson in the title if I’m not actually eliminating them this week? I don’t think so. Clemson, after all, will be the focus of our discussion. As I’ll look at in more detail in the charts, there are a whole bunch of two-loss Power 5 teams I’m not eliminating yet. …
Sep
19
2021
Our Eliminator is back in Week 3. We’re running out of Group of 5 teams already, and the Pac 12 is looking to join. Last week, the Pac 12 was 12-12 in nonconference play. That’s bad. This week, it got even worse. The conference went 5-5, including the Pac 12 South going 0-5. The conference …
Sep
12
2021
Our Eliminator is back in Week 2, whittling down the smaller-conference teams, and dealing with a Pac 12 on the brink of collapse. The Pac 12 has gone a staggering 12-12 in nonconference play so far. For a conference that begins behind the eight-ball due to structural disadvantages in scheduling, that’s an unacceptable number of …
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
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 …
Dec
29
2019
Give author @MattZemek a twitter follow and check out his musings on college sports at https://www.patreon.com/Zemek. Harry Houdini is known as the original (or one of the original) escape artist stunt performers, who gave rise to David Copperfield and David Blaine in subsequent decades. To “pull a Houdini” is a term which might not be instantly recognizable to …
Dec
27
2019
Give author @MattZemek a twitter follow and check out his musings on college sports at https://www.patreon.com/Zemek. The Clemson Tigers have met the Ohio State Buckeyes in a Fiesta Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal. It happened three years ago, in 2016, and Dabo Swinney got the better of Urban Meyer in a blowout which propelled the Tigers to their …