A Much Needed Playoff Update: Are There Four Clear Favorites?

Post-week eight, we’ve seen a pampered Ohio State team slip through the cracks and Auburn battle domestic troubles, while Michigan stirs the pot of playoff contention. After the dust settled, finally, we should have a consensus playoff mock-up.

No, not even close

College football is too temperamental, programs are too subject to arbitrary losses for any playoff finalization. It’s still just week eight. Even Bama is mortal, barely. The field, however, is a clutter of conjecture and ambiguity.

Let’s play devils advocate here and puzzle together an anecdotal timeline for each contender.

Michigan and Texas’ hot-streak showed just how cosmetic a week one loss is, which is why their early losses garner more leeway in playoff talks, but ultimately means they’re walking on thin ice. The committee won’t tamper with respective loss merit, so when Texas plays West Virginia and (possibly) Oklahoma, and Michigan meets Ohio State, a loss kills their playoff odds.

Ohio State has been not-so-terrific after Nick Bosa’s leave of absence. They’ve scored sixteen less points per game and allowing twelve more, along with a 30-point, 2017 Iowa-esque, loss to Purdue.

4-3, lost to Eastern Michigan, Purdue.

A loss of this magnitude kept them from last years playoff despite the crown of conference champion and that narrative won’t change, especially with an air-tight contention pool.

Pac-12 carnage leaves just one coherent conference frontrunner in Washington State, who’s looking ahead to a grueling conference gauntlet.

West Virginia, Oklahoma, and Texas all cross paths in Big-12 play, yet only one could survive at 12-1.

LSU and Georgia suffer death by scheduling, as LSU will run into Alabama, and the winner will likely face Georgia in the conference championship.

Clemson, Notre Dame, and UCF will stroll through a JV schedule, Clemson and Notre Dame getting playoff dibs as power-five/relevent schools. Then, still lingering on the cusp, is Florida and Kentucky.

My long-winded, confusing point being: No one is out, but everyone is vulnerable. There is no scope for a final resume at this point, even a two-loss bid is within bounds of playoff reasoning.

Image source: https://www.freep.com/story/sports/columnists/jeff-seidel/2018/08/28/michigan-shea-patterson-offense/1115283002/