NCAA Football Playoff 2014: Exploring Championship Implications of Week 3 Games

There is still a great deal that can happen between now and the end of the 2014 college football season as it relates to the College Football Playoff, but there is no question that a few teams have separated themselves in the early going.

Florida State, Oregon and Alabama are the top three teams in the nation in terms of the AP rankings, and that doesn't figure to change this week with the Seminoles idle and the other two teams going up against relative cupcakes.

Teams like Oklahoma, Georgia and Texas A&M are very much in the mix for that fourth and final CFP spot while USC, Notre Dame, LSU and UCLA are lurking just outside the picture currently.

The college football landscape changes on a weekly basis, and Week 3 certainly figures to impact the balance of power. Here is a projected look at the current CFP picture along with further analysis regarding which Week 3 games will affect it most.

Projected CFP Rank	Team	AP Rank	Record	Key Win
1	Oregon	2	2-0	Michigan State
2	Florida State	1	2-0	Oklahoma State
3	Alabama	3	2-0	West Virginia
4	Oklahoma	4	2-0	Tulsa
5	Georgia	6	1-0	Clemson
6	Texas A&M	7	2-0	South Carolina
7	Auburn	5	2-0	Arkansas
8	USC	9	2-0	Stanford
9	LSU	10	2-0	Wisconsin
10	Baylor	8	2-0	SMU
11	Notre Dame	11	2-0	Michigan
12	UCLA	12	2-0	Virginia

Week 3 Games With Biggest Implications

No. 6 Georgia vs. No. 24 South Carolina

Many figured this game might be an SEC East eliminator prior to the season. It still may be, but No. 24 South Carolina has already lost once while No. 6 Georgia is very much in CFP contention. These appear to be two teams moving in different directions although the Gamecocks have defeated the Bulldogs in three out of their past four meetings.

South Carolina was absolutely thrashed by Texas A&M's offense in Week 1, and it was unconvincing in a 10-point win over East Carolina last week. Conversely, Georgia beat Clemson by 24 points in Week 1, and it is coming off an idle week, which means head coach Mark Richt has had extra time to prepare.

Above all else, though, the Bulldogs have elite running back and Heisman Trophy candidate Todd Gurley at their disposal. According to Seth Emerson of The Macon Telegraph, South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier is well aware of what his team is up against.

"

(Gurley) is a big, strong back. Either he or the quarterback at Oregon (Marcus Mariota) are the Heisman leaders right now. But hopefully he may not be the leader, hopefully we can slow him down a little bit. But he's gonna get his yards, there's no question about that. He's going to get his yards against everybody. They ran out the last nine minutes of the game against us last year. So we certainly know what they're capable of doing.

"

With that said, South Carolina has been relatively successful against Gurley over the past couple years, as seen in this graphic, courtesy of College GameDay. Gurley has struggled to run against the Gamecocks more than any other team:

As evidenced by the first couple games of the season, though, this isn't the same South Carolina team that college football observers have seen in recent years. Georgia is the clear favorite even on the road, and it will improve its CFP case significantly with a win on Saturday.

Tennessee vs. No. 4 Oklahoma

While Oklahoma has rolled through its first two opponents this season, it has yet to be truly tested. That will change in Week 3 when the Sooners host undefeated Tennessee. The Volunteers haven't beaten top competition to get to 2-0, either, but they are an SEC team with plenty of raw talent if nothing else.

Oklahoma is favored to win the Big 12 this season, and Tennessee is the type of team it needs to beat in order to truly be a CFP contender. It is tough to peg the Sooners' strengths and weaknesses after beating Louisiana Tech and Tulsa, but quarterback Trevor Knight has been impressive after breaking out against Alabama in the Sugar Bowl last season.

With over 600 total yards and four touchdowns through two games, the sophomore has proved capable of leading Oklahoma's offense. He also seems to have the intangibles that head coaches like Bob Stoops look for in their signal-callers.

Some Oklahoma supporters might be looking past Saturday night's game with even bigger encounters on the horizon, but Knight understands its importance, according to Bob Przybylo of Scout.com:

Tennessee will be a definite step up in competition for Knight and the Sooners this week. If they can clear this hurdle, then one can only assume that their confidence and spot in the CFP race will be secure for the time being.

No. 11 Notre Dame vs. Purdue

After routing Michigan 31-0 last week, observers are starting to recognize No. 11 Notre Dame as a legitimate CFP contender. The Fighting Irish played in the national championship game just two years ago, and they appear to be approaching that form once again.

Notre Dame shouldn't have a particularly tough game against a middling Purdue team in Week 3 although the Boilermakers could potentially surprise their rivals. While Notre Dame's defense has looked great through the first two weeks, the difference will almost certainly be quarterback Everett Golson.

The dual-threat quarterback has been doing damage through the air and on the ground with eight total touchdowns already. He has looked so good, in fact, that NBC's Cris Collinsworth has labeled him a potential Heisman Trophy candidate:

Golson is clearly a far better passer in terms of accuracy and decisiveness than he was when he led Notre Dame to the title game two seasons ago. The Irish have a sneakily difficult schedule in 2014, but they figure to be players this year.

A win over Purdue is a must, and beating the Boilermakers in convincing fashion could really bolster their CFP resume.

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