College Football Playoff Rankings: Biggest Takeaways from Week 8

The king isn't dead. But neither are the Irish.

Florida State and Notre Dame played an epic midseason classic with the defending national champion barely squeezing out a victory as a costly penalty decided things late. But while the Seminoles' 31-27 win kept alive their hopes of making the playoff field, the Irish are far from dead even with the blemish of a loss.

Notre Dame's loss, along with Baylor's earlier in the day, left just three power-five conference teams undefeated. And since Ole Miss and Mississippi State must face each other in the Egg Bowl at the end of the regular season, that means at least half of the playoff field will be filled with teams with one loss or more.

This reality puts every one of the power-five conferences—as well as Notre Dame—in play for the playoff. As we noted earlier in the week, don't be surprised to see a two-loss team (or two) in the inaugural football final four.

Conference	Unbeaten	1-Loss	2-Loss
ACC	Florida State	1	3
Big Ten	0	4	5
Big 12	0	3	3
Pac-12	0	4	4
SEC	Ole Miss, Miss State	3	3

Teams That Moved Up

SEC West

By Sunday, four of the Top Five teams in the AP Poll will be from this division. Even though both Mississippi State and Auburn were idle this week, losses by Baylor and Notre Dame will bunch these teams near the top of the rankings along with Florida State. It seems inevitable that one of those four teams (Alabama, Auburn, Ole Miss and Mississippi State) will end up in the playoff. The only question is whether two of them will.

Pac-12

Ryan Kang/Associated Press

The upset morning in the Big 12 probably benefited the Pac-12 the most. Losses by Baylor and Oklahoma left the Big 12 with no clear front-runner, and Oregon's recovery from its lone loss to Arizona should put it back on track for a playoff berth. The Pac-12 South is also very much in the mix, and what's making the difference right now are two Hail Mary passes—ASU's against USC and Arizona's against Cal. The winner of the Territorial Cup can play its way into the playoff field if it wins out, including the Pac-12 title game.

Georgia

While the battle of attrition goes on in the SEC West, the Bulldogs continue to cruise in the junior circuit that is the SEC East, even without the services of running back Todd Gurley. Should Georgia be able to handle Auburn and then end up winning the conference, it will force its way into the four-team playoff.

Kansas State

If it weren't for their own self-destruction against Auburn at home, the Wildcats would be looking at a Top Five ranking right now. As it is, they should be the highest-ranked Big 12 team in the next poll and control their own destiny in the conference race. If they run the table, it's hard to see the Wildcats not in the playoff field.

Michigan State/Ohio State

Both teams won by the identically dominant scores of 56-17 Saturday and will meet in two weeks in East Lansing, Michigan, to decide the winner of the Big Ten East. The winner of that game likely will end up winning the conference title with a 12-1 record. But the B1G champ might still need a little help from other conference winners and/or Notre Dame. 

Teams That Moved Down

Notre Dame

The Irish will drop in the polls, but not much. And due to how closely contested Saturday night's game was, Notre Dame is still in the playoff mix, but now it needs a bit of help. It still has high-profile games against a pair of Pac-12 teams (USC and Arizona State) to impress the selection committee. The loss to FSU just means the Irish will have to do a bit more scoreboard watching.

Big 12

Losses by Baylor and Oklahoma changed the conference's standing in the polls, as its leading team likely will be trailing the top teams in the other four power-five conferences. Because the Big 12 is the only FBS conference that plays a true round-robin, chances are that no dominant team will emerge, thus making the Big 12 the conference left out of the four-team playoff field.

Group-of-Five Team in the Best Position

East Carolina was idle this week but maintained its position as the leading team for the Group-of-Five berth. The Pirates' primary challengers remain Colorado State and Marshall. The Rams beat Utah State on a last-second field goal, while Marshall is just one of four unbeaten teams in the FBS. Boise State and UCF are two other teams still with an outside chance to steal this bid.

Projected Conference Championship Matchups

ACC: Florida State vs. Duke

Big Ten: Michigan State vs. Minnesota

Pac-12: Oregon vs. Arizona

SEC: Mississippi State vs. Georgia

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