College Football Playoff 2014: Latest NCAA Predictions After Week 12 Standings
What, didn't expect controversy to come with the inaugural College Football Playoff?
Week 12 surely caused the committee to hit the panic button, as the No. 1 team in the land fell while a pair of others in the Top Five hardly avoided upsets. Now a number of one-loss teams look like realistic possibilities, and if things keep going at this pace, some two-loss teams might just look good, too.
So much for the regular season not mattering, right?
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The job of the committee is certainly not easy. As things stand right now, two of the four slots are absolute locks. One is somewhat debatable despite an undefeated defending champ occupying it, while the last is as good as anyone's guess.
College Football Playoff Predictions
Alabama
Remember back at the start of the season when everyone was ready to write off Alabama? That for one reason or another, Nick Saban's dominance over the recruiting realm would not matter as the season raged forward?
Right.
The Crimson Tide have come full circle before the eyes of the nation as key new faces on defense and Blake Sims under center have become more comfortable in the spotlight. The culmination of this growth was Saturday's 25-20 upset of No. 1 Mississippi State.
Grantland's Matt Hinton put it best:
"Anyway, teams I wouldn't want to play right now, in order: 1. Alabama, 2. FSU, 3. Oregon. Also owners of three best résumés right now.
— Matt Hinton (@MattRHinton) November 16, 2014"
There, Blake Sims threw for 211 yards and a score, T.J. Yeldon was his usual self with 72 rushing yards and a score and Amari Cooper was his usual self with eight grabs for 88 yards and a score.
Most impressive, though, was the Crimson Tide defense. It held Heisman favorite Dak Prescott to 290 passing yards and two scores through the air, with another 82 rushing yards on the ground. The unit also forced him to toss three interceptions.
Right now Alabama is easily the best team in the nation. So long as Saban and Co. take care of Auburn to close the year, the Crimson Tide are one of the four.
Oregon
Marcus Mariota and the Oregon Ducks were one of the biggest winners of Week 12. Why?
They were on bye.
Over the course of such a chaotic weekend, that certainly means a whole lot. The Ducks need no help getting in at this point, either. Marcus Mariota is the new Heisman favorite thanks to his 2,780 passing yards and 29 touchdowns to two interceptions.
Not only does Mariota's team have three wins over ranked opposition at 9-1, it finally got over its seemingly annual November struggles and exorcised its Stanford demon, 45-16. In a popular upset pick the week after, the Ducks flawlessly moved past ranked Utah, 51-27.
Oregon does little wrong this season, although a defense that ranks outside of the top 50 is going to get tested in a major way sooner rather than later. Still, Mariota's offense has taken down a trio of elite defenses and has an easy finish to the season.
Florida State
The Florida State Seminoles are not out of the running—or any game, for that matter—until they say so.
Jameis Winston and Co. were at it once again in the comeback department Saturday, erasing a serious halftime deficit to upend the Miami Hurricanes, 30-26. As ESPN Stats & Info noted before the late charge, the Seminoles have made a habit of the clutch:
"They love each other and it gets down to that," coach Jimbo Fisher said, per The Associated Press, via ESPN.com. "They play for each other. They don't panic. This is a heck of a Miami football team. Give them credit ... but our kids just execute when they have to."
What the Seminoles do is not all that appealing. Winston was once again sluggish with 304 yards with a touchdown and interception. But timely defense and 92 yards and a pair of scores from freshman tailback Dalvin Cook got the Seminoles the win.
The Seminoles remain undefeated, although some controversy will begin to seep into the conversation as its resume continues to go up in flames as Notre Dame and others keep losing. Still, if Fisher's team can avoid letdowns at Boston College and Florida, the Seminoles have to be considered a lock.
Mississippi State
Look, the loss to Alabama was bad, but where else is the committee going to turn at this point? Should it?
The only right answer is no. This Bulldogs team lost to the best team in the country by just five points and still has notable wins over LSU, Texas A&M and Auburn. As far as resumes go, SEC play ensures the Bulldogs are in the postseason so long as they win out.
Eric Rosenthal of HoundSports.com concurs:
"Mississippi State should stay ahead of TCU. Close loss @ Alabama is more impressive than a 4 point win @ 3-7 Kansas
— Eric Rosenthal (@ericsports) November 15, 2014"
Clay Travis of outkickthecoverage.com provides a note as to how other contenders stack up:
The Bulldogs still tout one of the nation's best defenses and offenses, the latter led by Prescott. The former Heisman front-runner still has 2,521 yards and 20 scores through the air, with another 861 and 11 on the ground.
The Egg Bowl against Ole Miss to end the season will decide everything for the Bulldogs. As long as the Bulldogs prevail there, one has to imagine they become a stone-cold lock for the CFP.
Stats and information via ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
