And Then There Were 5

Last weekend 4 of the 9 undefeated major college football teams lost, leaving Alabama, Clemson, Michigan, and Washington as the 4 remaining Power 5 teams and Western Michigan as the only remaining Group of 5 team. I beleive the first 4 now clearly control their own destiny in making it to the playoff, but the College Football Playoff Committee may disagree.

This week also marked the first time the official rankings were released and Washington wasn’t in the top 4, Texas A&M was just ahead of them. I still think an undefeated Pac-12 champion would jump over Texas A&M, but can understand why Texas A&M is ahead of them right now.

Of the 1 loss teams, Louisville, Ohio State, and Texas A&M are in the best positions. Ohio State is in the best position because if they win out they’ll beat Michigan and become Big 10 Champs, allowing them to take Michigan’s spot in the playoff. Louisville and Texas A&M both need help to become conference champs. Florida is a little further down in the polls, but have a couple tough games, including Florida State, and would need to beat the SEC West Champ, likely Alabama, to win out. That could be enough for them to jump a couple teams and take Alabama’s spot in the playoff.