College Football Playoff rankings: Can the SEC and ACC get 2 teams in? Maybe

The College Football Playoff may only allow two Power 5 conferences in this year.

So you’re telling me there’s a chance only two conferences make the College Football Playoff?

It’s certainly within the realm of possibility this year, as the SEC and the SEC seem to have several teams capable of making the playoff. Though the same thing could be said for the Big Ten, we haven’t seen them play yet, so we have no idea just yet. Outside of the Oklahoma State Cowboys and the Oregon Ducks, it could be a very southeastern centric 2021 College Football Playoff.

Here are the College Football Playoff teams through Week 6.

2021 College Football Playoff teams through Week 6

The Clemson Tigers are 4-0 overall and 3-0 in ACC play. They are coming off their most signature win of the season. Though they had their issues getting field goals off vs. the No. 7 Miami Hurricanes, Clemson won going away 42-17 to make sure nobody is taking its No. 1 spot away from the team anytime soon. The question is if they will be challenged by anyone in the ACC?

The Nov. 7 matchup vs. the Notre Dame Fighting Irish is the Tigers’ toughest game of the year. Though they should win that game up in South Bend, there is a chance the Golden Domers could pull off the upset. Unfortunately, we’re not likely going to see them challenged by anyone until the national semifinal. Clemson would go to the Sugar Bowl as the top-seeded team in the field.

The first of two undefeated teams remaining in the SEC through only three Saturdays are the Alabama Crimson Tide. They edge out the Georgia Bulldogs, who they host this Saturday, for the No. 2 spot. What we’ve seen out of the Crimson Tide in three weeks is both promising and troublesome. While they can outscore anybody, their defense has major issues at all levels.

The gap between them and the second-best team in the SEC West is cavernous. If the Crimson Tide don’t get to Atlanta in December, something horrible happened along the way. Until a Nick Saban disciple shows he can beat his mentor on the gridiron, Alabama will largely have a stranglehold at the top of the SEC and perpetually be in the College Football Playoff picture.

While Georgia still has a formidable foe remaining in divisional play vs. the Florida Gators, the Dawgs come in at No. 3 for three reasons: Their menacing defense, their ability to break the other team’s will in the second half and having one of the most complete rosters in the Power 5. Though they’re not expected to win in Tuscaloosa next Saturday night, they can definitely upset Alabama.

The big area of concern for Georgia is starting slow offensively. While Stetson Bennett IV has taken control of the starting quarterback job, we haven’t seen running back Zamir White go off yet or wide receiver George Pickens take over a ball game. Georgia hasn’t faced an offense this explosive, but Alabama hasn’t faced a defense like this. We have a treat on our hands in Week 7.

With top-10 teams like Florida and Miami losing in Week 6, it leaves the door wide open for Notre Dame to climb up and get the No. 4 spot. At 3-0 in their lone year as full-time members of the ACC, the Irish have asserted themselves as one of the premier programs in the Power 5. They’re well-coached, stout defensively and will run the football down the opposition’s throat.

Notre Dame still has to play Clemson at home and the North Carolina Tar Heels on the road in November. Those games will not be easy. However, should Notre Dame split the pair to finish the season at 10-1 (9-1), Notre Dame will have punched a ticket to the ACC Championship game in Charlotte. This will be a top-10 team all year long, so their pathway in is very clear at this time.

I’m only ranking teams that have played games, by the way.

First two teams out through Week 6

The big beneficiary from Florida and Miami losing is North Carolina. Mack Brown‘s team was already the No. 8 team in the land entering Week 6. After defeating the Virginia Tech Hokies in a shootout, we were once again reminded that sophomore quarterback Sam Howell is a special player. This is a team capable of getting to a New Year’s Six bowl this season out of the ACC.

Right now, North Carolina feels like the third-best team in the ACC behind Clemson and Notre Dame. The Tar Heels are the new kids on the block, so they’re not going to get the respect of the teams ranked ahead of them until they beat them. However, we are looking at a program very much on the rise and one who isn’t afraid to take on the big dogs whenever duty calls.

And now I have arrived at the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Obi-Wan Kenobi of the Big 12, their only hope for getting a team into the College Football Playoff. At 3-0, the Pokes are the only unblemished team in their Power 5 conference. While wins over Tulsa, West Virginia and Kansas don’t move the needle, Tulsa did beat UCF in AAC play and WVU is 2-1 through three games.

At this juncture, Oklahoma State’s biggest challenger in Big 12 play are probably Farmageddon rivals Iowa State and Kansas State. With rivals Oklahoma and Texas each with a pair of Big 12 losses, the pathway to Arlington for the Pokes is clear. They have the offensive talent and the defense to get them there. It’s just a matter of not losing a boneheaded game along the way.

Ultimately, I don’t think the ACC and the SEC are getting two teams into the playoff apiece. The ACC Champion and the SEC Champion will get in, as will no worse than a one-loss Big Ten champion. Oklahoma State gets in if the Cowboys are undefeated, but with one loss, will they get the benefit of the doubt vs. a two-loss, non-champion out of the ACC or the SEC. I don’t think so.

Clemson, Alabama, Georgia and Notre Dame would be getting in if the season ended today.

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