NCAA Football Playoff 2014: Latest Predictions After Week 10 Standings
Ole Miss has had a great year so far, but the team has almost no chance of reaching the College Football Playoff after suffering its second-straight loss on Saturday.
A fumble on the goal line by Laquon Treadwell gave the Auburn Tigers the 35-31 win. The seemingly serious injury to Treadwell's left leg made the game secondary and added insult to injury. Treadwell was carted off, and per Dr. Dave Siebert of Bleacher Report, will probably miss the remainder of the season.
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With the win, the Auburn Tigers' hopes of reaching the College Football Playoff have been invigorated. It could all wind up coming down to a tussle with the rival Alabama Crimson Tide in the Iron Bowl.
That's where Auburn figures to stumble.
Few—if any—team is playing as well as Alabama is right now. Since losing to Ole Miss and inching by the Arkansas Razorbacks the following week, Alabama has outscored its opponents (Texas A&M and Tennessee) 93-20.
Surely Nick Saban's bunch will make the CFP, right?
Not by my estimation. As good as Alabama has played, it's hard for me to see them going through LSU, Mississippi State, Auburn and the SEC title game—assuming they get there—without a loss.
With a loss already this season, that's more than likely what 'Bama would need to make it in to the top four. Because of that murderer's row of a schedule, 'Bama is not in my projected top four.
Who Will Reach the Top Four?
Florida State
The No. 1 Florida State Seminoles has passed all of its significant regular-season tests. It probably won't play another ranked team until the ACC title game. That looks like a matchup with the No. 21 Duke Blue Devils. Jamison Crowder and Co. pulled out a 51-48 double-overtime win over the Pittsburgh Panthers on Saturday, but they don't figure to trouble the Noles.
Because of the easy schedule, Florida State looks like a virtual lock to hold down the top spot in the final CFP bracket.
Mississippi State
The team that emerges out of the SEC will likely be No. 2. For me, that has to be the Mississippi State Bulldogs. There will be some sentiment that Alabama is the best team in the conference, but with two losses, it will be impossible to elevate the Tide over the Bulldogs whom I see escaping the rigorous SEC West with just one loss.
Losing to 'Bama on Nov. 15 won't plummet the Bulldogs too far to recover, as they will still be the only SEC West team with one loss. Neither the Missouri Tigers or Georgia Bulldogs will be a match for Mississippi State in the SEC championship, thus Dak Prescott and that nasty defense will enter the CFP.
Oregon Ducks
Marcus Mariota and the Oregon Ducks exorcised the Stanford Cardinal demon on Saturday with a lopsided 45-16 win. The Ducks still have a tough battle on the road against No. 17 Utah next week, but that is a game Oregon is expected to win.
As long as the Ducks don't stumble in the Pac-12 Championship, they should be the No. 3 seeds.
Michigan State
The last seed should belong to the Michigan State Spartans. Everything is riding on the Nov. 8 showdown with the Ohio State Buckeyes. If Mark Dantonio's team can beat the Buckeyes, it won't play another ranked team in the regular season.
In the Big Ten championship, the Spartans are likely to play the Nebraska Cornhuskers, whom they have already beaten this season.
As a one loss Big Ten team, the Spartans are a perfect fit for the No. 4 spot.
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