Projected College Football Playoff rankings after Week 13: The curious case of Ohio State

Here’s what Tuesday’s College Football Playoff rankings will look like.

The College Football Playoff picture is getting a little clear, whether or not you believe it is.

The Selection Committee reset our way of thinking when it comes to the four best teams. The Alabama Crimson Tide keeps on blowing the opposition out, while the Notre Dame Fighting Irish continues to be one of the best all-around teams in the country. Though the Clemson Tigers got back to good Saturday, we are on the precipice of having to cross off the Ohio State Buckeyes.

College Football Playoff projections for Week 14

This may have been the most impressive victory for the Crimson Tide this season. Alabama was without head coach Nick Saban for the game due to him testing positive for COVID-19. Offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian filled in for him in the interim and did a marvelous job. Alabama won the Iron Bowl over arch-rival Auburn 42-13, improving to 8-0 on the season. They look dominant.

The Crimson Tide will be the favorite to win the SEC Championship game over the Florida Gators in a few weeks. Quarterback Mac Jones and running back Najee Harris continue to play at a high level, no matter who the Crimson Tide come across. As long as the defense continues to improve, the Crimson Tide will be the favorite to no only win the SEC but win the national championship.

It was not easy, but Notre Dame was able to put away the North Carolina Tar Heels on Friday afternoon to stay perfect. The Fighting Irish are expected to get to the ACC Championship game without a defeat, poised to make the College Football Playoff for the second time in three years, regardless of what ultimately goes down in Charlotte. So why is that date vs. Clemson important?

Notre Dame could earn the No. 1 seed in the playoff field if Alabama were to lose to Florida in Atlanta, as long as the Irish stay undefeated. But even if the Golden Domers fall to Clemson in the ACC title bout, that should be good enough for them to still be a top-four team at the end of the season. Brian Kelly has a great team and is getting great play out of his quarterback Ian Book.

As a surprise to absolutely no one, Clemson went out and beat the brakes off a hapless Pittsburgh Panthers team to improve to 8-1 on the season. This came weeks after Clemson’s first loss of the season to Notre Dame up in South Bend. It may have left a sour taste in their mouth, but the Tigers bounced back and proved to us all that they are unequivocally one of the four best teams.

Even though they lost to Notre Dame already, that game was up in South Bend. Assuming they will meet the Golden Domers in Charlotte for a second time this season, Clemson will be favored in that neutral-site affair. The Tigers will have future No. 1 overall pick, Trevor Lawrence, back in at quarterback and a team that is extra motivated to hand the Irish a big fat L on a huge stage in the ACC Championship Game.

Ohio State’s playoff chances are now on life support, despite being undefeated. The Buckeyes had their second game of the year canceled due to coronavirus positivity. Ohio State was ready to play the Illinois Fighting Illini on Saturday as late as Wednesday, but things changed in a hurry in the Battle for the Illibuck. Now, Ohio State is one cancelation away from not getting to Indianapolis.

Factor in the previously undefeated Northwestern Wildcats shockingly losing to the awful Michigan State Spartans and the Big Ten may not get a team in after all. Does a one-loss Northwestern or Indiana Hoosiers team do enough in the Selection Committee’s eyes, even if the Buckeyes do not play more than seven games this season? The Big Ten is a total mess right now.

First two teams out

The one team that benefits considerably from a bad weekend in the Big Ten is the Texas A&M Aggies. They got another win it needed over the LSU Tigers to improve to 6-1 on the season, although it was a less-than-impressive showing from the offense. With the head-to-head tiebreaker over Florida, the Aggies will continue to get the benefit of the doubt by the Selection Committee for another week.

While the Aggies will not get to Atlanta this year, as Alabama has the head-to-head tiebreaker over them, this is a team definitely capable of getting into the playoff as a one-loss, non-champion as an at-large, especially if the Aggies go 9-1 this fall. They will have navigated a tough schedule about as well as anyone could have hoped for, and they might be rewarded for it.

With a dominating victory over the Kentucky Wildcats, Florida has done enough to ensure us whoever win the SEC Championship game between the Gators and the Crimson Tide will make the College Football Playoff. Though Florida has to beat Alabama in Atlanta because the Gators are not getting in as a two-loss, non-champion, they might have what it takes to upset the Crimson Tide.

Florida does have the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy in quarterback Kyle Trask. If he plays up to his potential in the SEC Championship vs. Alabama, Florida could get in as high as the No. 2 seed. Either way, Florida will be in a New Year’s Six bowl for the third straight season under Dan Mullen. If they keep winning games, they will leapfrog Texas A&M eventually as SEC Champions.

So no, we are not going to be getting much action from the Selection Committee this week. One, two and three will be one, two and three. The interesting to keep an eye on is how it values a 4-0 Ohio State, as well as the two other SEC contenders in Florida and Texas A&M. The Cincinnati Bearcats should be No. 7 and a two-loss Georgia Bulldogs team may come in at No. 8.

What will the Selection Committee decide once they reconvene again in a few days?

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