Ad Disclosure
For the Georgia Bulldogs, the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party was a reason to raise a toast if ever there was one. Quarterback Jake Fromm had a heck of a game Saturday, the Bulldogs’ defense stood tall when it had to and 24 points scored were just enough.
It was also enough to keep Georgia right in the College Football Playoff race just days before the CFP committee releases its first rankings.
With most of the Associated Press Top 10 either taking the day off or fattening up on a locally available creampuff (ahem, Clemson vs. Wofford) the Georgia-Florida game was the one with the most Playoff implications.
That defeat is tough for the Gators, who have 2 losses and no realistic path back into the CFP semifinals. If Georgia absolutely chokes away the SEC East Division lead, a 2-loss Florida team would have a shot at perhaps an unbeaten LSU or Alabama for the league title. Even then UF might need help to get in the top 4.
But for now, like Auburn, UF is dropping out of our consideration and for similar reasons — there are 3 SEC teams in front of the Gators. Worse yet, unlike Auburn (which still has Georgia and Bama ahead on the schedule), the Gators have no opponents in front of them who will impress any voters. Florida State (4-5) just fired coach Willie Taggart, Vanderbilt is 2-6 and Missouri is 5-3, except Mizzou lost to Vandy.
That’s not nearly enough to boost UF’s résumé and get the Gators back in the CFP reckoning. So even though the Gators are ranked ahead of unbeaten Baylor and Minnesota (and Auburn for that matter) in the AP poll, they have dropped out of our CFP contenders list.
Who appears at the top, obviously, are the 2 participants in the latest “Game of the Century” candidate on Saturday in Tuscaloosa, No. 1 LSU and No. 2 Alabama. We suspect they will be 1-2 on Tuesday when the first CFP rankings come out, but in a way that’s almost irrelevant — whoever wins their clash will be No. 1, no doubt about it. No need to hype that game any further here, just know that everybody else will be fighting for No. 2 the following week.
Here is our weekly look at the CFP contenders, broken down by groups. They will be listed in order of the newest Associated Press poll until the first CFP rankings come out on Tuesday.
Prime-time players
LSU
If anybody is in a position to take a loss and still keep realistic CFP hopes, it’s the Tigers. They own the best résumé in the country, and even if LSU loses at Alabama, coach Ed Orgeron’s group should not be punished too harshly. Of course there is no reason to have such a defeatist attitude — LSU is legitimately good enough to win in Tuscaloosa and really cement its ascension to No. 1.
Alabama
We have said this several times in this space and in bowl projections, but we will repeat it because it could be our last chance: The Crimson Tide are the kings of the SEC until somebody proves that they are not. That’s not rat poison, that’s just logic. Does falling to No. 2 in the AP poll serve as motivation? You know what, that’s a dumb question because Nick Saban always motivates his team anyway.
Ohio State
A week off should remind the Buckeyes that they would do well not to overlook Saturday’s opponent, Maryland. Sure, the Terrapins’ 5 Big Ten defeats this season have been by an average of 32.8 points per game. Maryland is not good. But anybody in Ohio can remember last year, when a Terps team that also wasn’t any good took OSU to overtime and, frankly, should have won. Just saying.
Clemson
Another week, another blowout for the Tigers. A 45-point victory over Wofford was not any more or less impressive than most of Clemson’s ACC campaign. The defending national champs have won 6 league games by an average of 44-12 and that includes a 1-point squeaker against North Carolina. Does that mean Wofford could compete in the ACC this season? Hmmmmmm.
Penn State
The Nittany Lions have quite the task ahead of them in the next 3 weeks — Minnesota, Indiana and Ohio State have a combined record of 23-2. You read that right. And the unbeaten Nittany Lions get both of their games against undefeated conference opponents (Minnesota and Ohio State) on the road. The Lions are more talented than the Golden Gophers and Hoosiers, though, and should win both.
Knocking at the door
Georgia
Oh yeah, just in case anybody forgot Georgia was still here? Georgia is still here. The Dawgs have the worst loss of anybody on this list (to South Carolina) but the win over Florida was a great résumé booster. UGA still has to win the SEC title for a shot at the CFP, though.
Oregon
The Ducks drilled USC on Saturday, in a result which weirdly helped Oregon’s most likely Pac-12 title game opponent, listed just below here. The league’s North Division race is all but over, with Oregon leading Oregon State (yes, really) by 2.5 games with 3 to play.
Utah
The Utes rallied to beat Washington in Seattle to remain perhaps America’s quietest 1-loss team. The Utes now control their fate in the Pac-12 South because USC, which handed Utah its lone loss, was knocked out of the division lead in its defeat to Oregon.
Oklahoma
The Sooners remained a game behind in the Big 12 race during their bye week. Giving Sooners coach Lincoln Riley an extra week to prepare after an upset loss to Kansas State did not do any favors for Oklahoma’s next opponent, Iowa State.
Baylor
The Bears remained undefeated on Thursday yet probably did not convince anybody that they deserve to be any more highly regarded. A 3-point win over a West Virginia team with a losing record simply won’t help Baylor gain any ground. A win Nov. 16 over Oklahoma would.
Minnesota
Coach P.J. Fleck’s campaign to get ESPN’s College GameDay to come to Minneapolis fell on deaf ears (apparently there is a game somewhere in Alabama that Rece, Herbie, Coach Corso and Des need to get to more urgently?), but the Golden Gophers can turn quite a few heads if they beat Penn State.
Dropped out: Florida
Longtime newspaper veteran Jim Tomlin is a copy editor and writer with SaturdayDownSouth.com.
