Week 8 College Football Playoff Projection: More chaos at the top
The latest weekend of college football didn't disappoint. Coming one week after the much anticipated October 12 slate of games, week eight proved to be another fascinating week for the sport around the nation.
One massive development came when No. 5 Georgia reminded everyone that it isn't to be forgotten about by beating No. 1 Texas 30-15. Handing the Longhorns their first loss of the season, the Bulldogs showed that they are still a National Title contender.
Another top-15 matchup this past weekend saw No. 11 Tennessee defend its home turf against hated rival No. 7 Alabama. In the 24-17 Volunteer win, the home team overcame a scoreless first half to give the Crimson Tide its second loss of the season. Now, Alabama likely needs to win out to reach the College Football Playoff.
In the Big Ten, none of the contenders were challenged. In fact, Ohio State and Penn State both had open weeks.
Meanwhile, new national No. 1, Oregon, destroyed lowly Purdue on the road 35-0 on Friday night. Meanwhile, rising national contender, No. 16 Indiana further legitimized its perfect record by dismantling Nebraska 56-7 in Bloomington. Also, Illinois picked up an important win over Michigan, 21-7, to keep its slim Big Ten title game hopes alive while eliminating the Wolverines from any hope of winning any titles this year.
So let's take a moment to look at our latest College Football Playoff projection.
Rank | Team | Bid | Previous Rank |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Oregon | Big Ten Champ | 1 |
2 | Georgia | SEC Champ | 9 |
3 | Clemson | ACC Champ | 3 |
4 | Iowa State | Big 12 Champ | 4 |
5 | Texas | At-Large | 2 |
6 | Ohio State | At-Large | 6 |
7 | Penn State | At-Large | 5 |
8 | Tennessee | At-Large | 11 |
9 | LSU | At-Large | N/A |
10 | Miami | At-Large | 8 |
11 | Notre Dame | At-Large | 10 |
12 | Boise State | MWC Champ | 12 |
While each of these teams is deserving of their spot, nothing seems guaranteed for any team in this crazy college football season. That's why teams on the outside such as Indiana, Texas A&M, BYU, and UNLV all have hope of jumping into the field. So keep checking in with each week to see how the College Football Playoff might shake out.