Week 4: Playoff Rankings

We are now entering the final week of the regular season, with 3 more rankings coming out, with the last one on Selection Sunday on December 4th. This weekend cut the list of potential teams that can make the payoff down to 7 (Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan, TCU, USC, Clemson, and LSU). 

The biggest surprise was Tennessee getting blown out by South Carolina, who plays Clemson this week, and eliminated any conversation of 3 SEC teams from making the playoff. It did open up the door once more though for Clemson, who could get in as the 4 seed depending on what happened this week and Championship weekend. The other benefactor of the weekend was the Big Ten, as the loser of the Michigan vs Ohio State game might not be out. 

This weekend should be an exciting one, and give us more clarity on who will be standing, and who will need help to make the playoff. 

How We Voted

 

Buckeye50 Playoff Poll –

1. Georgia stays at the top with a 10 point win over Kentucky, but it was not their most impressive win of the season. This past Saturday felt like a sleep walk Saturday for the top 4 teams, but the name of the game is win, and the Bulldogs have two of the better wins still with Tennessee and Oregon, who are both now 2 loss teams. 

2. Ohio State stays at two, and once more, this is the week where they can keep their spot. A win this week will keep them in the playoff, and all but guarantee them a spot. They struggled in spots against Maryland, especially with Henderson in at running back, but Dallan Hayden stepped up in the second half, and scored three touchdowns , and a defensive stand helped secure a 13 point win against Maryland.

3. TCU moves up from 4 to three, even though they had late heroics to win the game on a last second field goal. However, their strength of record and scheduled is impressive, and a win this week against Iowa State would give them a very good chance of making the playoff, even with a loss in the Big 12 Championship game. 

4. Michigan moves down a sport after escaping a win at home against a solid Illinois team, that were leading almost all throughout the second half, before Michigan kicked a game winning field goal. The biggest question this week, and going into The Game, is what this Michigan team looks like now without Corum, or even Donovan Edwards. 

5. USC keeps moving on up after a big win against UCLA, and Caleb Williams has entered the Heisman conversation. The Trojans have the one loss to Utah in the last second, but have clinched a spot in the PAC-12 Championship game, and awaiting their opponent. They host Notre Dame this week, who have been on a win streak, including a win over Clemson.

6. Clemson benefited from Tennessee’s loss, and find themselves back in the mix for the playoff. They dont have the signature wins they used to with some upsets happening in the ACC, but a win in the ACC championship against North Carolina next week is respectable. They do have to beat South Carolina this week though, who just upset the Volunteers after a huge game from Spencer Rattler. 

 

	1	2	3	4	5	6
Cory	Georgia	Ohio State	Xichigan	TCU	LSU	USC
Dave	Georgia	Ohio State	Xichigan	TCU	USC	Clemson
Gregg	Georgia	Ohio State	TCU	Xichigan	USC	Clemson
Jason	Georgia	Ohio State	TCU	Xichigan	USC	LSU
John	Georgia	Ohio State	TCU	Xichigan	USC	LSU
Josh	Georgia	Ohio State	TCU	Xichigan	USC	Clemson
Steven	Georgia	Ohio State	TCU	Xichigan	USC	Clemson
Trout	Georgia	Ohio State	Xichigan	TCU	USC	Clemson
Vaughn	Georgia	Ohio State	TCU	Xichigan	USC	Penn State

 

 

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