The eighth week of the college football season is in the books. Each week the performance of the teams on the field can be looked at to see who is in the best position to make the College Football Playoff. Note that this bracketology will only take into consideration what happened on the field, so teams who played tough games will be ranked high. Conversely hyped up teams who haven’t played tough games yet, will likely be unranked or ranked lowly on the list until there is a solid sample size. Here is the College Football Playoff bracketology October 20.
CFP Four
1. LSU Tigers (7-0)
There will not be any bonus points awarded for beating Mississippi State, but the Tigers were able to stay undefeated. With wins over Texas and Florida, there aren’t any better cases for the top spot. The offense is on fire, while the defense has some talented players. They do have some tough games in the coming week.
This week: vs. Auburn Tigers (6-1)
2. Oklahoma Sooners (7-0)
Texas may have almost lost to Kansas, but it is still a good win for the Sooners as the Longhorns will still be highly ranked. The Sooners had no problems with West Virginia and have stayed on a roll. Jalen Hurts is operating the offense efficiently and the defense has really taken a step forward this season.
This week: at Kansas State Wildcats (4-2)
3. Penn State Nittany Lions (7-0)
With Wisconsin losing and Penn State getting a big win over Michigan, the Nittany Lions move up these rankings. With two straight wins over ranked teams, Penn State is on a roll. Their defense is as head coach James Franklin calls it, “championship-level”. Sean Clifford is leading the offense well, as they are averaging 40 points per game.
This week: at Michigan State Spartans (4-3)
4. Ohio State Buckeyes (7-0)
The Buckeyes defeated Northwestern on Friday night to stay undefeated. Ryan Day’s squad has a quality win over Cincinnati, who hasn’t lost since. On top of that, Ohio State has certainly passed the eye test, as they are dominating their competition.
This week: vs. Wisconsin Badgers (6-1)
First Four Out
5. Alabama Crimson Tide (7-0)
Alabama won an ugly game against Tennessee 35-13, but also had Tua Tagovailoa knocked out of the game with an ankle sprain. Tagovailoa will be out for a week or two, but should return. Alabama doesn’t have a big win this year, but are undefeated and have not shown many signs of struggle.
This week: vs. Arkansas Razorbacks (2-5)
6. Clemson Tigers (7-0)
Everyone knows about Clemson’s talent, but they simply haven’t won games against great teams. This week they beat Louisville, who is having a nice year, but is now 4-3 on the season. They can’t afford to slip up in the next several weeks.
This week: vs. Boston College Eagles (4-3)
7. Florida Gators (7-1)
It was a rainy game at South Carolina in which Florida started slow, but they got another win. At 7-1, Florida has played well enough to be regarded as a top 10 team. They have some matchups to focus on coming up, but have a bye week to prepare for the last four games of the regular season.
This week: Bye
8. Auburn Tigers (6-1)
Auburn had no problems with Arkansas this week, winning 51-10. With wins over Oregon, Tulane and Texas A&M the Tigers have shown they can play with anyone. Now they’ll have to prove it again as they have a big SEC West showdown this week.
This week: LSU Tigers (7-0)
Next Four Out
9. Baylor Bears (7-0)
Baylor continues to grind out wins to stay undefeated. This week they defeated Oklahoma State on the road for a nice win. With wins in Big 12 play over the Cowboys, Iowa State, Kansas State and Texas Tech, Baylor has started off well.
This week: Bye
10. Georgia Bulldogs (6-1)
In the middle of a tropical storm, Georgia defeated Kentucky 21-0. The Bulldogs aren’t playing their best football, but are staying alive with just the one loss. They still have a chance to win the SEC East and get to the SEC Championship Game.
This week: Bye
11. Oregon Ducks (6-1)
After their opening week loss to Auburn, the Ducks have been on fire. They have won six straight games and beat 25th ranked Washington this week. The Ducks seem to be the class of the Pac-12, but will need some help to get to the CFP.
This week: vs. Washington State Cougars (4-3)
12. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (6-1)
Notre Dame has the one loss to Georgia, but they still have slight chances to make the CFP. This week they were off. The rest of the schedule isn’t the toughest, so the Fighting Irish may win the rest of their games, but they won’t be able to accrue many more quality wins.
This week: at Michigan Wolverines (5-2)
Make sure to check out our college football page for more updates and rankings.
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