While the playoff committee doesn’t rank the power 5 conference, there is no way conference strength – which means OOC results doesnt figure in to a committee members thought process.
Let me point out on my philosophy on these rankings – your most recent OOC results count a lot, and you’ll see me reference that throughout the season.
We’ll give each conference a relative strength value 1-10.
Let me explain my relative rankings
0-5 : Conference lacks depth no elite teams
6-7: Conference lacks depth, and there are 1-2 elite teams, and 1-2 quality teams
7-8: At least 2 elite teams, and at least 2 quality teams.
8-9: 3 elite teams, and at least 2 quality teams
9-10: 1/2 of conference is elite and/or quality teams.
1) Pac 12 – 7.9
I had the Pac 12 number 2 last week, and this week number 1. The conference has just 1 OOC loss so far this season. UCLA had an epic comeback against Texas A&M, California had a nice win at North Carolina, and Washington beat Rutgers. It was a solid week for the Pac 12. Right now this is the deepest top to bottom league in the country.
Nebraska vs Oregon, Minnesota vs Oregon State, and Boise State vs Washington State are the big OOC games this week. USC vs Stanford is a monster in conference matchup.
Playoff Contenders
USC, Washington
In the Playoff Picture
Stanford, Utah, Washington State
2) SEC – 7.7
Alabama gave the SEC it’s marquee win with a victory over Florida State. The Tide are the country’s best team. South Carolina had a surprising win over North Carolina State, and Tennessee came back to defeat Georgia Tech. LSU had a particularly impressive win over BYU and is a team to watch.
Texas A&M blowing a 34 point lead to UCLA and undermanned Florida losing to Michigan kept the SEC from overtaking the Pac 12.
If the SEC sweeps these three games : TCU vs Arkansas, Auburn vs Clemson, and Georgia vs Norte Dame, I’ll move the SEC ahead of the Pac 12 no matter what the Pac 12 does. That would be very impressive.
Playoff Contenders
Alabama, LSU
In the Playoff Picture
Auburn, Georgia
3) Big 10 – 7.5
The Big 10 had a decent week led by Maryland winning at Texas. That was a shocker. Michigan did beat Florida, but that was a depleted Gator team. Purdue lost to Louisville, but played reasonably well. Rutgers had some decent moments in a loss to Washington.
The Big 10 has several OOC matchups this week : Northwestern vs Duke, Iowa vs Iowa State, Indiana vs Virginia, Pittsburgh vs Penn State, Nebraska vs Oregon, Minnesota vs Oregon State and the big one Ohio State vs Oklahoma.
Playoff Contenders
Ohio State
In the Playoff Picture
Penn State, Wisconsin, Michigan
4) ACC – 7.4
The ACC got off to un-even start this year. They 0-3 against the SEC with Georgia Tech, Florida State, and NC State losing to Tennessee, Alabama, and South Carolina. UNC also had a disappointing loss to Cal. Virginia Tech salvaged the weekend with a big win over West Virginia, and Louisville had a power 5 win over Purdue.
Next week the ACC power 5 games are : Northwestern vs Duke, Indiana vs Virginia, Pittsburgh vs Penn State, and a game the ACC really needs Auburn vs Clemson.
Playoff Contenders
Clemson
In the Playoff Picture
Miami, Virginia Tech, Louisville, Florida State
5) Big 12 – 6.2
The Big 12 is woefully behind the other conferences. Baylor had an embarrassing loss to Liberty. Texas went down at home to Maryland and West Virginia played decently but lost to Virginia Tech. The Big 12 doesn’t have a single power 5 win.
If Oklahoma doesn’t beat Ohio State, the only way a Big 12 team makes the playoff is to run the table. TCU faces Arkansas this week too.
Playoff Contenders
Oklahoma
In the Playoff Picture
Oklahoma State
The Rest
Not yet Notre Dame, but if you beat Georgia we’ll pay you more attention.
Playoff Contenders
NONE
In the Playoff Picture
NONE
My Current Playoff Teams
As my personal criticism of the playoff committee, I don’t think the top 4 seeds order should be released until the final rankings. The playoff committee’s inconsistent and ever changing criteria is causing unnecessary frustration and confusion. It’s one of the improvement points I’d have for them.
If I had a vote this is who I would put in the playoff right now.
In – Ohio State | Alabama | Clemson | USC
Just Missed – 5) Washington 6) Penn State 7) LSU 8) Oklahoma
