Played In/Out: Alabama, Florida State stake claims
Paste BN Sports is keeping careful tabs on how each week's wins and losses impact the eventual makeup of the inaugural College Football Playoff. If the season ended today, here are three teams moving into the championship picture and three moving out.
Teams that played their way in :
Alabama. The Crimson Tide will clearly move into the top four of this week's poll after defeating previously unbeaten Mississippi State — the Tide were fifth heading into the weekend, while the Bulldogs were first. Alabama might even leap all the way to the top of the list, ahead of Oregon and Florida State. That wouldn't be surprising: The selection committee has thought highly of Alabama since the release of the first poll, so it stands to reason that this group could move four spots and sit in first. Given Auburn's continued struggles, the Tide seem destined for the Playoff.
Florida State. Question Florida State, but don't doubt the Seminoles' ability to have just enough in the tank to run the table. Yet again, FSU fell into a significant hole against an opponent — Miami (Fla.) this Saturday — with sights set on ending the program's hopes of defending its national championship. Yet again, the Seminoles were able to crawl back from a double-digit deficit to survive and advance. If not the prettiest regular season, little has changed: As at this point a season ago, the Seminoles are unbeaten and in line to play for the national title.
Georgia. It's a bit of a convoluted scenario, but Georgia's convincing win against Auburn does keep the Bulldogs in contention for the Playoff. It starts with beating Charleston Southern and Georgia Tech to end the regular season. After that, the Bulldogs need to knock off Alabama — should the Tide advance — in the SEC title game. The road also involves another loss from the leaders of the Pac-12, Big 12, ACC or Big Ten — possible, maybe, if not probable. Nonetheless, Georgia's in the mix as one of the top two-loss teams in the country. Of course, the Bulldogs could've done themselves a nice favor by not laying an egg against Florida on Nov. 1.
Teams that played their way out :
Mississippi State. Conversely, it will be interesting to see how far the Bulldogs fall after Saturday's loss to the Crimson Tide. At face value, an SEC team with just one loss would still have a case for the top four. But Alabama's moving in, so three of the four spots are spoken for — Alabama, Oregon and FSU. The Bulldogs' only hope is that TCU falls out of the top four and they squeeze into the final spot; more likely, the Frogs either remain in fourth or cede position to one of Arizona State, Baylor or Ohio State. It's not over for Mississippi State, but it'll have to fight its way back into the top four.
Nebraska. There was only a slim chance anyway, but the Cornhuskers had a chance. Any hopes of reaching the Playoff are done now, sadly: Nebraska embarrassed itself in a 59-24 loss at Wisconsin, allowing the Badgers to rack up nearly 600 yards on the ground and giving up an FBS-record 408 rushing yards to running back Melvin Gordon. The worst part? This isn't new. Losing on the road, losing to a ranked team, getting embarrassed on defense and failing to show up on offense? It's becoming par for the course for the Cornhuskers.
Arizona State. The Sun Devils aren't the first team to see their dreams die in Corvallis — it's actually a bit of a Pac-12 tradition. But ASU was certainly dreaming of an 11-win regular season and a shot at Oregon in the conference title game with a Playoff berth on the line. Instead, ASU's loss to Oregon State may cost the Sun Devils the South Division championship, thanks to an earlier loss at home to UCLA. It most certainly cost ASU any shot at the Playoff, barring a surprise twist and turn during the regular season's remaining weeks. Rather than play for the title, the Sun Devils might have to be satisfied with double-digit wins and another step forward under Todd Graham and his staff.