(Photo Courtesy: The New York Times)
After another exciting weekend of college football, the first playoff rankings have been released. The AP poll no longer matters, as now we can fully predict the playoff bracket based on rankings that release every Tuesday until Sunday December eighth, which acts as a selection day.
As I mentioned, we are coming off another exciting week of college ball. Ohio State left Happy Valley with a crucial BIG 10 win over Penn St. Texas A&M, Iowa State, and Clemson all suffered upsets, and now find themselves on the outskirts of playoff contention. Both Indiana and Army keep on rolling, advancing to 9-0 and 8-0 respectively. The Hoosiers and Black Knights remain two of five undefeated teams, alongside Oregon, Miami, and BYU, who also secured victories this past weekend.
Over the past 10 weeks I have predicated the new 12-team bracket based on the AP poll, and my predictions for the contending teams. With these rankings officially giving us a look at the playoff bracket, instead, I’m going to give my thoughts and critiques on why the rankings are the way they are.
The biggest surprise to me was that Alabama found itself in the top 12, despite being a two-loss team, in the SEC, nonetheless. That only means trouble for teams like SMU and Colorado, because having a two-loss team in the bracket makes it extremely difficult for the loser of either the ACC or Big 12 championship to get into the bracket. This tells me that the selection committee values the strength of conference compared to overall record.
Which brings me to my next point, eight of the twelve teams are from either the SEC or BIG 10 conference. If you’re a team like SMU, Pitt, Iowa State, Colorado, and even Army, you need to put up a really good streak of wins over the next month to even put yourself in discussion for the bracket.
As I mentioned these are the first of six rankings before Selection Sunday. So, it will be interesting to see how a lot of these upcoming games can shake up the bracket. Now with all of that being said, here are my games to watch this weekend:
3 Georgia at 16 Ole Miss (Saturday 3:30 PM EST ABC/ESPN+)
Despite the Dawgs, winners of four straight, being the higher ranked team going into Oxford, Mississippi, the Rebels of Ole Miss are favored by ESPN analytics 53% to 46%, and understandably so. Rebels quarterback Jaxson Dart has been throwing darts all season, throwing for 21 touchdowns to only three interceptions. The Rebels also have the most sacks in the nation, with 42. So why not the Rebel’s at home? Georgia quarterback Carson Beck is coming off a three-interception performance in their win against Florida. While the Bulldogs will be on their A-game offensively, the Rebels have one of the best offenses in the country. Jaxson Dart will make a Heisman statement in a win against the Dawgs of the SEC.
20 Colorado at Texas Tech (Saturday 4 PM EST FOX)
Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter finally has the Buffaloes back in the limelight, primed for a run in the BIG 12. But they run into the hottest team in the conference in Texas Tech, who knocked off unbeaten Iowa State last weekend 23-22. This one will come down to who can run the rock more efficiently. Texas Tech running back Tahj Brooks has roughly five yards a carry vs top-25 teams, and he’ll be the man that leads the Red Raiders to another home upset down in Lubbock.
11 Alabama at 15 LSU (Saturday 7:30 PM EST ABC/ESPN+)
Death Valley never disappoints in primetime, and both squads will most likely be viewing this as an elimination game from both the SEC title and the playoffs. Crimson Tide signal caller Jalen Milroe has only thrown 13 touchdowns, compared to Garret Nussmeier’s 20 for the Tigers. As this matchup has shown in the past, it will be a passing clinic from both sides. Despite the Tide’s most recent win over Missouri, both of their losses have come on the road in electric and hostile environments. While the Tide has more offensive explosiveness, the Tigers are the more efficient team on offense. They’ll get the home win and get one step closer to an SEC title.
Have an opposing viewpoint to this opinion? Let us know. All views are welcome. Send your thoughts to our Editorial Staff – Editor Thomas Szot tszot@student.dean.edu or Dean Daily Faculty Advisor, Professor John Rooke jrooke@dean.edu
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