NCAA Football Playoff 2014: Latest Predictions After Week 4 Standings
Another week of college football in the books, another step toward the inaugural College Football Playoff.
There were statement games. Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide went ahead and silenced any doubters with a major win over Florida thanks to the play of one electric quarterback. Texas A&M did much of the same to stay in the hunt, not that any critics were out there as the Kevin Sumlin machine continues to roll along.
There were upsets, too. Mississippi State took down LSU at home. Indiana upended Missouri. Clemson even took Florida State to overtime.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
The result is a necessary refresher as to which teams are in the driver's seat in regard to the Playoff.
Below, let's take an updated look at CFB projections based on recent results and a peek into the future.
Florida State
No Jameis Winston, no problem.
All right, that may be a lie, but Florida State remains on top after a nail-biting overtime finish against Clemson. College GameDay puts the win into image form:
The Seminoles defense allowed 407 total yards and quarterback Sean Maguire threw two picks, but Florida State proved game in the face of adversity.
The hero? Wideout Rashad Greene, who brought in nine receptions for 135 yards and a score.
While the game speaks to the true value of Winston, it is only a matter of time before he is back under center. It helps that the coming schedule is rather straightforward until a visit from Notre Dame in the middle of October.
All things equal, the Seminoles remain on the fast track to win the ACC, especially considering the winner of Florida State-Clemson has gone on to do so in each of the past three seasons.
Oregon
The Oregon Ducks are a lock at this point, barring an epic collapse.
Of course, that almost happened Saturday night, but adversity on the road against Washington State is admirable, at least in a way.
Saturday was a ho-hum affair for the explosive offense, with Heisman contender Marcus Mariota throwing for 329 yards and five scores with all of four incompletions in a 38-31 win.
More impressive, of course, was the season-defining win two weeks ago, when the defensive perennial powerhouse that was then-ranked No. 7 Michigan State came to town and suffered a 46-27 loss behind 318 passing yards and three touchdowns from Mariota.
Given UCLA's consistently iffy form to date, the only real landmine on the schedule that sticks out at this point is the usual date with Stanford. But this year the contest is at home, and the Cardinal is very similar to the Spartans in most ways, meaning should the Ducks stay true to this form, then even that contest looks like a win.
The defense and offensive line have questions to answer, but Mariota is a man on a mission. Until further notice, he can will his team to the Playoff.
Alabama
Remember when quarterback was an issue that could have doomed the Crimson Tide, effectively ending the school's reign of dominance?
Crickets.
Blake Sims is the real deal, folks. He beat out Florida State transfer Jake Coker for the starting gig for good reason, and on Saturday against the Florida Gators he wrote his way into the record books with 445 passing yards and four touchdowns.
Previously, only one other player had thrown for more than 400 yards in school history (Scott Hunter, 484 yards against Auburn in 1969).
Of course, Sims is not alone. As ESPN Stats & Information notes, the Crimson Tide's jaw-dropping 645 total yards is the No. 2 overall output under Saban, with the highest performance coming against Duke.
Florida is no Duke. Derrick Henry contributed on the ground with 111 yards and a score on 20 totes. Amari Cooper continued to look like arguably the best wideout in the nation with 10 receptions for 201 yards and three touchdowns.
On the flip side, the Crimson Tide limited the Gators to 200 yards of total offense and allowed just two third-down conversions on 13 attempts.
Alabama is here to stay as long as Sims can continue to utilize the talent around him to great success. Hurdles such as games against Texas A&M, LSU and Auburn will be tough, but there is absolutely nothing to suggest the Crimson Tide will not be in the running come CFB time.
Baylor
It is entirely too easy to overlook Baylor, especially as Week 4 was a bye for Art Briles' team.
That in no way eliminates the Bears from consideration.
The Bears once again tout an elite offense behind the hot arm of Heisman contender Bryce Petty. A 45-0 win over SMU was nice. A 70-6 win over Northwestern State was expected. A 63-21 triumph on the road over Buffalo is the most impressive of all to this point.
While the biggest tests are yet to come for Petty and Co., it is abundantly clear that the team continues to fire on all cylinders thanks to continuity at a number of key positions. In just two games, Petty has not skipped a beat en route to 577 yards with six touchdowns and no interceptions.
He is also once again supported by an elite stable of backs, as the numbers show:
| Shock Linwood | 47 | 219 | 4.7 | 24 (TD) | 4 |
| Johnny Jefferson | 43 | 216 | 5.0 | 19 | 2 |
| Silas Nacita | 23 | 134 | 5.8 | 21 | 3 |
Perhaps scariest of all is that the Bears keep rolling in the face of injury.
"Everyone I started out the summer with isn't on the field right now," Petty said, referring to his depleted group of receivers, per The Associated Press (h/t Fox Sports). "It's kind of weird. But I thought those guys did a great job of just stepping up."
While contests against Oklahoma State and Kansas State loom large near the end of the season, the game that may very well determine the Bears' CFB candidacy outright comes against the Oklahoma Sooners near the beginning of November.
Considering the Sooners had their fair share of struggles Saturday against West Virginia, what Petty and his offense can do to that defense will be quite interesting indeed.
AP poll via The Associated Press. Stats and information via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
