The College Football Playoff bracket isn’t complete, and won’t be for another week following the conclusion of the conference title games. With a week to go, there are still a few intriguing questions that need answering.
Many who follow this stuff closely believe they’ve narrowed it down and can accurately forecast who will get in and who won’t. But it things never seem to work out like that. There are typically upsets and odd things that happen on the final Saturday that have a way of mixing things up.
There are some things that are known: Ohio State, Georgia, Indiana, Texas Tech, Texas A&M. All will be in one way or another. There are still several key questions that need to be answered. So what’s really worth watching next week in terms of what happens to the field?
Could the Lane Kiffin Drama Cost Ole Miss an At-Large Bid?
The chaos could actually begin on Tuesday night when we see how the CFB selection committee reacts to Lane Kiffin’s departure from (predicted) playoff bound Ole Miss to non-participant LSU. It was just two seasons ago that undefeated Florida State was left out of the then four-team playoff because they lost their quarterback to an injury in the ACC title game. Could the committee treat the Rebels in a similar fashion and leave them out of the field because their head coach and a number of his assistants left Oxford on the eve of the tournament?
In fairness, that year the committee dropped FSU from third to fifth, which left them on the outside. This year they’d be dropping Ole Miss from 7th all the way out of the top 12. Seems like that might be too harsh?
Could the Atlantic Coast Conference be Left Out Completely?
Strange but true: There’s a chance that 7-5 Duke could upset 18th-ranked Virginia and earn the ACC title.
Most observers have been operating under the assumption that the ACC champ is guaranteed a playoff berth…but that’s not the case. The spots are guaranteed to the “top five highest ranked conference champions.” If Duke wins, there’s a decent chance that TWO Group of Six conference champs – North Texas or Tulane from the American Athletic conference and James Madison from the Sun Belt – would be ranked higher than the Blue Devils.
So it’s conceivable that the ACC champ – if that Duke – could be watching from home.
Or Could the Committee Make Miami the De Facto ACC Rep?
Then again, the highest ranked team in the ACC is 10-2 Miami, coming in at #12 last week. They could sneak into the field without playing in the conference title game. With a week to go – and neither team plays this Saturday – the Hurricanes are in a battle with 10-2 Notre Dame (currently ranked #9) for one of the at-large berths. The fact that Miami defeated the Fighting Irish earlier in the season hasn’t seemed to matter that much to the committee so far. Some ND supporters aren’t bothered by that in the least, even if most college football fans are.
Would Three-Loss Alabama Still be a Lock?
If Georgia defeats Alabama in the SEC title game on Saturday, could the Tide miss out on a spot? A loss to the Bulldogs would be ‘Bama’s third of the season…and one of those was to a bad Florida State team. Does any three loss team deserve a bid? Would 9-3 Texas have a strong argument then?
Will the Big 12 Get Just One Team in Again?
BYU could really tighten things up if they were able to upset #5 Texas Tech in a Big 12 title game rematch. The Red Raiders won the first meeting, handing BYU their only loss of the season to date. The Cougars have a better resume than either Miami or Notre Dame. If Tech wins again, is BYU left out?
We get all the answers for real next Sunday.
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