Field expands in Football Four Playoff Projection
Losses Saturday by three of the College Football Playoff's four highest-ranked teams have shaken up the Football Four Playoff Projection. Specifically, they expanded it.
Seven teams received votes from our Playoff Projection panel this week, tying for the second-most this season.
But one aspect of the 13-person panel's vote did not change: For the second consecutive week, Alabama is the unanimous top seed.
"Except for 'Bama, all written in pencil," said panelist and WWE Hall of Fame announcer Jim Ross.
Behind the Crimson Tide, Ohio State is the projected No. 2 seed, Clemson the No. 3 and Michigan the No. 4. Beyond that quartet, there was a dropoff to Louisville, Washington and Wisconsin.
Ohio State was No. 2 in the projection every week until it lost Oct. 22 at Penn State. The Buckeyes received no votes for two weeks after losing to the Nittany Lions and received the fifth-most votes last week.
Five voters' top four went Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, Michigan, and three voters' went Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan, Clemson.
This week's complete voting results:
After three weeks of relative stability in the Playoff picture, now the outlook is anything but. Nowhere is that more true than with the Big Ten, which might not have Ohio State or Michigan representing their division in the conference championship game.
"If Penn State wins its last two games — and it seems almost inconceivable that they won’t — thereby locking Ohio State out of the Big Ten, it’s going to awfully hard to keep the Buckeyes out," said panelist Eddie Timanus of Paste BN Sports.
"This will be especially so if, say, Wisconsin then goes on to beat Penn State in the B1G final, and if, say, Oklahoma sweeps the Big 12. You’d then have the Buckeyes sitting there with wins against two of the Power Five conference champions."
The Playoff Projection panel is based on the College Football Playoff selection committee's model and includes Ross, former FBS coaches Frank Beamer, Tommy Bowden and Rich Brooks, former FBS athletic directors Mike Alden, Bill Byrne and Jim Livengood, and Paste BN Sports college sports staff members Timanus, Nicole Auerbach, Paul Myerberg, George Schroeder, Daniel Uthman and Dan Wolken.
The Playoff Projection is in its fourth year. Each panelist enters a four-team ballot, with four points awarded for a No. 1 vote, three for a No. 2, two for a No. 3 and one for a No. 4. The projection is purely a mock selection with no bearing on the Playoff selection committee's decisions.
PHOTOS: BEST OF WEEK 11