College Football Playoff Rankings 2017: Projected top four after Week 1
By Brad Weiss
The college football season is upon us, and after a full slate of games on Saturday, we take a look at the projected College Football Playoff.
The College Football Playoff is goal for every team that kicked off their season this week, as it is the final four teams who will be given a chance to play for the national title. Last season, the Alabama Crimson Tide and Clemson Tigers battled it out in an instant classic for the national championship, with the Tigers pulling off the upset. Those two teams were favored to make it to the College Football Playoff all season, but Washington and Ohio State, the other two semifinalists, had to win over the committee to get in.
Heading into this season, the Crimson Tide looked to be the class of college football once again. They proved their worth on Saturday night, as they knocked off No. 3 Florida State 24-7 inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in Atlanta, Georgia. With the win, Alabama positioned themselves to get back to the playoff this season, but there is still a very long road to go.
As we look behind us at an action-packed first weekend of college football, four teams stood out, and at this time, could project to be the four that make it to the College Football Playoff. Joining Alabama in the top four will be Ohio State, USC, and Oklahoma State, three teams who looked strong on both sides of the ball in their opener. All four of these teams play in very tough conferences, so just because they are on top of the mountain now, does not mean they will stay there throughout the season.
Here is the projected College Football Playoff as of Saturday night.
- Alabama
- Ohio State
- USC
- Oklahoma State
Ohio State got off to a slow start against Indiana in their opener, and were actually losing by one point in the third quarter. However, they reeled off 29 straight points to blow out the Hoosiers, beating Indiana 49-21. They are going to have to be better if they hope to get another shot at a semifinal game this season, and in a tough Big Ten, it will take everything they have to do just that.
Oklahoma State was dominant in their first game of the year, as quarterback Mason Rudolph showed why he could be a finalist for the Heisman Trophy this season. The senior led his Cowboys to a 59-24 victory over Tulsa, throwing for 303 yards and three touchdowns against zero interceptions. Fellow standout James Washington may be the best wide receiver in the country, and his opening performance of six catches for 145 yards and two scores was to be expected.
Last season, the USC Trojans shrugged off a rough start to the season to finish with nine straight wins, capping their season off with a win in the Rose Bowl against Penn State. They began their quest for a national title by escaping a tough effort by the Western Michigan Broncos on Saturday night. USC got a strong game from running back Ronald Jones II, as he rushed for 159 yards and three touchdowns in the Trojans 49-31 victory.
Next: FanSided 2017 College Football Preview
There is still plenty of football left to play this season, and as we saw last year, anything can happen late in the season. The four teams who look to be favorites after Week 1 could be nowhere to be seen after the conference championship games, so it is anybody’s guess at this point. For now, these four look like the favorites, but let’s check back in a week from now and see what has changed.