College playoff selections coming down to the wire
As the 2015 college football season winds down, fans are starting to predict which teams they think will be chosen to be a included in the second ever College Football Playoffs. If the season ended today, the selection committee would choose the Clemson Tigers (1 seed), Alabama Crimson Tide (2 seed), Oklahoma Sooners (3 seed), and the Iowa Hawkeyes (4 seed) to battle for the title.
However, as we head into a weekend full of conference championship games, the committee’s top four teams could definitely change and I’m here to break down how some teams can slide into the playoff for a chance at a championship.
Clemson Tigers (12-0)
The Tigers have been sitting atop of the CFP Rankings since the very first one this year (they start the ranking in week 10). All Deshaun Watson and his teammates need to do is beat a very tough and underrated North Carolina team in the ACC Championship game and they’ll find themselves competing in the College Football Playoff.
Alabama Crimson Tide (11-1)
Alabama finds themselves playing Florida (10-2) in the SEC Championship Game this weekend as the Gators look to ruin not only the Crimson Tide’s playoff hopes, but also the playoff hopes of the SEC. Even with the lone loss against a up and down Ole Miss team, the committee thinks that Alabama has enough talents, thanks to Heisman hopeful running back Derrick Henry, to enable them to be good enough for a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Oklahoma Sooners (11-1)
After defeating Baylor (9-2), TCU (10-2), and Oklahoma State (10-2) in three consecutive games, the Sooners have already shown that they can compete with some of the best that the nation has to offer. Since there is no championship game in the Big 12, Oklahoma and Baker Mayfield find themselves resting up earlier than almost all the other teams as well as having a pretty concrete spot in the College Football Playoff.
Iowa Hawkeyes (12-0)
Throughout the 2015 football season, the Iowa Hawkeyes have been quietly making their way up everyone’s rankings while compiling an undefeated regular season. After going through the regular season without many bumps in the road, the Hawkeyes find themselves in the Big 10 Championship game against a fellow playoff contender, the Michigan State Spartans. If the Hawkeyes come out of this must-win game unscathed, it should be pretty clear that they deserve one the the four playoff spots.
Michigan State Spartans (11-1)
Thanks to a muffed punt and a late field goal, the Michigan State Spartans find themselves one win away from a berth in the College Football Playoffs. The Spartans, led by Connor Cook, have a date with the Iowa Hawkeyes on Saturday night and if they can pull off a win against the tough Hawkeyes, they should find themselves playing in the College Football Playoffs in January.
Ohio State Buckeyes (11-1)
The Buckeyes had quite an end to their regular season by playing arguably their worst game of the season in a loss against Michigan State and then coming back the next week to absolutely demolish their rival, the Michigan Wolverines. Ohio State and Eziekel Elliot are looking to do the same thing they did last year in their championship-ending season by barely slipping into the playoff. If the Buckeyes want their season to continue, they would need help from Urban Meyer’s former team, the Florida Gators (against Alabama). If the Gators can’t pull through for the Buckeyes, a win from North Carolina (against Clemson) could possibly put Ohio State into the playoff if the committee thinks their resume is better than the Tar Heels.
Stanford Cardinals (10-2)
The Stanford Cardinals, led by running back Christian McCaffrey, are a long shot to make the College Football Playoff as the head into a battle with the USC Trojans in the PAC 12 Championship Game this weekend. The Cardinals are rooting for all the underdogs this weekend as they will need a win from either the Florida Gators (against Alabama) or the North Carolina Tar Heels (against Clemson.) If either of those teams can come out of the weekend with a win, Stanford will then have to rely on their wins against USC (earlier in the season, ranked 6th at the time) and Notre Dame (ranked 6th at the time) to push them in the College Football Playoff.
Loading ...North Carolina Tar Heels (11-1)
Ahead of their ACC Championship game against the top-ranked Clemson Tigers, the North Carolina Tar Heels actually find themselves tenth in the most recent CFP rankings but also with a very real chance of sliding in the playoffs. Obviously if the Tar Heels want to be even considered for the College Football Playoffs, the will need to take down the clear number one team in the nation, the Clemson Tigers, but that still may not be enough. With a win against Clemson on Saturday, the Tar Heels would still only have two wins against ranked teams this season (#1 Clemson and #23 Pittsburgh) as well as a loss against an awful South Carolina team. Will those two wins be enough for the Tar Heels? Only the committee knows the answer to that…
This year’s College Football Playoff will be fill with great teams, but which teams will it be? Find out this weekend by watching all these contenders fight for a spot in the second ever College Football Playoff.
My second year on The Quill Staff. I'm a member of the Cross Country team and run Track. Also, a big fan of everything involving Cincinnati sports whether...
