College Football Playoff Predictions

The College Football regular season has finally concluded, and the Playoff is becoming more foreseeable. Rivalry week was crazy, as it always is, and there were some big upsets. Michigan finally ended the streak of losing to Ohio State, and man was Jim Harbaugh, the Michigan Head Coach, happy. The Oklahoma State Cowboys won a roller coaster of a game, claiming Bedlam and causing the field to get rushed by 75,000 fans. Alabama came out flat against a mediocre Auburn team, and was actually shut out for three quarters. After four overtimes, the Tide came out victorious, but there was nothing to be proud about besides the rivalry win. Georgia shut out Georgia Tech, and Cincinnati beat East Carolina. As a result of all these games, we can predict the CFP way more accurately. Let’s take a look at the conference Championship games that will determine the playoffs.

SEC - #4 Alabama vs #1 Georgia

Big 12 - #5 Oklahoma St vs #9 Baylor

Big 10 - #2 Michigan vs #15 Iowa

AAC - #3 Cincinnati vs #19 Houston

Let’s break down the possible scenarios.

It is a guarantee that Georgia is in the Playoff, unless they lose by 70 to Alabama. If OKST beats Baylor, they are in, but if they lose, they’re out. Same with Michigan in the Big10 Championship game vs Iowa. Cincinnati has to win to get in as well, even though they would only have one loss.

So let’s say that Georgia wins the SEC and OKST, Michigan, and Cincy win. The Playoff will look something like this.

#1 Georgia vs #4 Cincinnati and #2 Michigan vs #3 Oklahoma St

Georgia would be the one seed, followed by either OKST or Michigan, then the team that wasn’t number two, and then Cincinnati.

Now let’s say all stays the same but Alabama wins over Georgia. It would look something like this.

#1 Michigan vs #4 Oklahoma St and #2 Alabama vs #3 Georgia

If Alabama beats Georgia in the SEC Championship game then they could play again in the CFP. It would be the committee’s choice, they might have Alabama or Georgia play OKST just so they Michigan would jump up to one; that is a given. But the one, two, and three seeds would be made up of one-loss Alabama, Georgia, and OKST. You could put them in any order really, and I think whoever has the most style points will take the two seed. If Alabama wins with lots of style, they would be the number two seed, Georgia would most likely be three, and OKST four. But let’s say that Alabama makes mistakes, but wins, and OKST wins with style. The Committee would put OKST at the two seed, and they would most likely play Alabama.

The next scenario would be that Georgia wins, potentially knocking out Bama, and Michigan wins and secures their spot, but Cincinnati loses. This scenario would be very interesting because it would open the door for a two-loss Bama, or possibly Notre Dame. Keep in mind Notre Dame does not play a conference championship game, so they are going to be a one-loss team, only to Cincinnati, going into selection week. Because Cincinnati isn’t a power five school, one loss means they have no shot.

#1 Georgia vs #4 Notre Dame/Alabama and #2 Michigan vs #3 OKST

Another scenario which isn’t that far fetched is if Georgia, Cincinnati, and Michigan win, but OKST loses. This would secure a spot for Cincinnati. The playoff would then look something like this.

#1 Georgia vs #4 Notre Dame and #2 Michigan vs #3 Cincinnati

The reason Notre Dame would be behind Cincinnati is because Cincinnati beat Notre Dame earlier in the season. That is the Irish's only loss. Now what’s interesting in the scenarios where Notre Dame gets in is that Head Coach Brian Kelly shocked the world by leaving for LSU. Would he stick around, and if he did, would it affect the players?

The last scenario that would be unlikely to happen (but not impossible) would be if Michigan and Georgia lose, and OKST and Cincy win. This would be really hard to predict because it would be the opinion of the committee. Michigan would be out, and you could argue that depending on how close Georgia plays Alabama, they stay number one. At the two spot, you could put a one-loss Bama or OKST, or potentially an undefeated Cincinnati, although that is unlikely. If Cincinnati doesn’t take the two spot, then they will definitely take the three spot, putting OKST or Alabama (whichever one isn’t the two seed) in the fourth seed. So, the Playoff would look something like this.

#1 Georgia vs #4 OKST/Alabama and #2 OKST/Alabama vs #3 Cincinnati.

In conclusion, there are still a lot of scenarios that could take place, and the conference Championship games listed at the beginning of the article are going to be very important. We’ve narrowed down the teams, but who plays who is the question. We’ll just have to wait and see!