Week 2: Playoff Rankings

What a wild weekend of college football! We knew there was going to be a lot of shakeups and clarity with the eligible teams, but now we have more of the playoff picture on who are the contenders and who are the pretenders. 

Who would have thought that at the start of November, both Alabama and Clemson are all but eliminated from the discussion? Also, Tennessee, who was number 1 in the first playoff ranking was beaten soundly by Georgia, and still have an outside shot of making the playoff depending on how things shape up with the Big Ten, Big 12, and potentially the PAC-12.

With three weeks left to go in the regular season, and the championship games after that, the next 4 weeks will be exciting. 

How We Voted

 

Buckeye50 Playoff Poll –

1. Georgia takes the top spot, and rightfully so. Even though they had some issues with Kent State and Missouri, the Bulldogs stepped up when they needed too, and they have claimed all but a small handful of votes for both the AP and Coaches Poll. A win this week against Mississippi State will clinch them the SEC East title, and will have Kentucky and Georgia Tech left on the schedule. The tricky part is that both games will be on the road for Georgia, and they want to avoid a let down, but the talent between those teams left and Georgia is a wide gap. 

2. Ohio State takes the second seed, but partly by default with the outcomes of the weekends games. Ohio State did not look great for another week, and could not move the ball with their talent. The wind played a factor in the passing game for sure, but the fact the defense gave up 200 yards to a 1 win team, you have to start answering these questions. Good news for the Buckeyes is that their next two opponents should be a good time to work out their issues with game time reps, but that November 26th game looms larger, and the team that came out Saturday would lose by 14 points to Michigan. 

3. Michigan moves up to the third spot, and based on our rankings, they have a vote everywhere between 2nd place and 6th place. They have been gradually getting better every week, and even though they trailed Rutgers at halftime, the game was never in question. The game against Illinois took a small blow after they lost to Michigan State, but the Wolverines know that they only game they need to win is against Ohio State. The Big Ten Championship game should be a cakewalk for either team. 

4. TCU keeps climbing, and rounds out the top 4 as the only other remaining undefeated team. They won against Texas Tech after trailing for a stretch, but once again found a way to win. They will be on the road against Texas this week, but the Horned Frogs have put together a great resume along the way. It will be interesting to see what the committee will do with Tennessee, who they feel are one of the best teams, and was the number 1 team, but have to give credit to winning your games, and TCU has done that.

5. Tennessee drops to the 5 spot because they now have a loss, and might be the best 1 loss team. Their comparison is Oregon (see below) but they were able to make the game look a little more competitive. Hendon Hooker looked mortal for the first time this season, and might have lost the Heisman. On their schedule, they have Missouri, South Carolina, and Vanderbilt, which should be 3 wins, and might be looking at an 11-1 record during championship game weekend with a chance to sneak in. 

6. Oregon has looked as dominant as any team in the country, but the 40 point loss to Georgia in week 1 is a heavy weight. They have not played USC, or Utah, and destroyed UCLA. They will play Washington, and Utah in 2 weeks which will be their last remaining test before the potential PAC-12 Championship, where they will play UCLA 1 more time, or USC. 

 

	1	2	3	4	5	6
Coach Rick	Georgia	Ohio State	Oregon	TCU	Tennessee	Michigan
Cory	Georgia	Ohio State	Michigan	TCU	Tennessee	Oregon
Dave	Georgia	Ohio State	TCU	Oregon	Tennessee	Ichigan
Gregg	Georgia	Ohio State	Michigan	TCU	Tennessee	Oregon
Jason	Georgia	Ohio State	Michigan	Tennessee	TCU	Oregon
John	Georgia	Oiho State	Michigan	TCU	Oregon	Tennessee
Josh	Georgia	Ohio State	Michigan	TCU	Tennessee	Oregon
Steven	Georgia	Ohio State	Michigan	TCU	Tennessee	Oregon
Trout	Georgia	Michigan	Ohio State	TCU	Oregon	Tennessee
Vaughn	Georgia	Ohio State	Michigan	TCU	Tennessee	Oregon

 

 

Here is how we voted, lets us know how you predict the rankings will go!  Who is your top 4?