The College Football Playoff landscape has changed, again.
Week 3 Week 4
(1) Mississippi State (1) Alabama
(2) Oregon (2) Oregon
(3) Florida State (3) Florida State
(4) TCU (4) Mississippi State
(5) Alabama (5) TCU
(6) Arizona State (6) Ohio State
(7) Baylor (7) Baylor
(8) Ohio State (8)Ole Miss
(9) Auburn (9) UCLA
(10) Ole Miss (10) Georgia
When the teams were announced, there were four things that stood out:
- We have a new # 1 (Alabama)
- We have a team that dropped out of the playoff picture (TCU)
- We have two teams that fell out (Arizona State and Auburn) of the top 10
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We have two teams that moved into the top 10 (UCLA and Georgia)
Debates
- Should Florida State be #3 considering they are the only perfect team in a “power” conference?
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Did Alabama really deserve to be vaulted to #1?
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Should Miss St be ahead of TCU in the playoff race for #4 ?
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Is Ohio State really at # 6 and could they push their way into the hunt?
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Will the SEC really get two teams in ?
#4 is the key
Most individuals seem to be comfortable with the top three teams: Alabama, Oregon, and Florida State. There are arguments about the ranking but they all believe that they are the best three. The heated debate currently is centered around 4-7. There are four teams who are arguing that they deserve that coveted #4 spot.
So, how does the committee really determine who the 4th team is and more importantly will be?
There is a lot of football that is left and the landscape has the potential of shifting more times. However, this next week, there should not be much movement because everyone has a “cakewalk”.
The heat is on and the true race is to #4.
Photo Credit: Football Mental Toughness