College Football Playoff 2016: Latest NCAA Predictions After Week 1 Standings

The 2016 college football season opened up with a monstrous weekend, and it did not disappoint. Parody ruled the day, as seven teams ranked in the initial Associated Press Top 25 poll left Week 1 winless.

Three teams within the Top 10 went down, with No. 3 Oklahoma being the first giant to fall against Houston, No. 5 LSU losing to Wisconsin and No. 10 Notre Dame dropping a double-overtime thriller at Texas. Several other Top 10 teams struggled as well in Clemson and Tennessee.

So what does all of this do for the 2016 College Football Playoff? Well, not an awful lot. Sure, LSU, Oklahoma and Notre Dame's playoff resumes took a hit on Saturday, but there is still two months of football left to be played. Five teams in the Top 10 of the preseason 2015 AP poll ended up outside of there in the final playoff rankings, so plenty of other top teams will likely lose multiple games as the season progresses. 

It has only been one game, so it is far too early to substantially put together a four-team playoff list. Yet, there is some minor context to examine some of this season's early playoff contenders.

With that in mind, here are early predictions for two top teams that could rise into the CFP conversation this season. For reference, here are the standings thus far for all teams, courtesy of ESPN.com.

Houston Will Finish Undefeated, Seriously Contend for Playoff

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Throughout the championship-game era with the implementation of the BCS and the playoff, it has been nearly impossible for teams outside of the power conferences to compete for a national title. That trend could be coming to an end.

The Houston Cougars emerged as one of the biggest surprises in college football last season, finishing 13-1 in head coach Tom Herman's first year with the program. They discovered a star quarterback in Greg Ward Jr. and capped off the season with a bowl win over Florida State.

Yet, it seems this year's version of Houston could be even better. The Cougars handily beat Oklahoma 33-23, displaying an efficient and explosive offense while also bullying the Sooners offensive line.

This is even more promising considering the rest of Houston's schedule is not nearly as tough as last season. 

The American Athletic Conference looks to be down, with Navy, Memphis and Temple all losing a ton of production and talent. Houston also has a favorable home schedule, hosting Louisville and a Tulsa team that can light up scoreboards under second-year head coach Philip Montgomery, Baylor's former offensive coordinator. 

The Cougars' toughest road challenge will be at Cincinnati on Sept. 15. The Bearcats return quarterback Hayden Moore and dynamic running back Tion Green, but Houston should have enough fire power and team speed on defense to come out victorious. 

A late game against Louisville should also give Houston a boost. The teams play on Nov. 17, and while the Cardinals may have an elite offense, the Cougars are tough to beat when playing top competition. Under Herman, the team is 5-0 against ranked opponents. Houston also showed that it can contain top offenses with its performance against Oklahoma, and the defense should only improve with each week.

The stars seem to be aligned for Houston to crash the playoff party. Its inclusion will be based on how other top teams—ones that possess much tougher schedules—fare, but expect the Cougars to be among the finalists for the fourth spot in the playoff.

Notre Dame Still a Major Factor 

Notre Dame was among the casualties for top teams in college football, but the Irish still have plenty of potential to push for a national title.

The big question for the Fighting Irish entering the season was who would play quarterback, and that seemed to be thoroughly resolved in Week 1. DeShone Kizer was sensational in a brutal road environment against Texas, going 15-of-24 with 215 yards and five touchdowns through the air while adding 77 yards and a score on the ground.

His play impressed spectators around the country, including ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit and Bleacher Report's Matt Miller:

This should give Notre Dame tons of hope moving forward, as it can rack up points in numerous fashions thanks to a dynamic attack. While the quarterback question was answered, another concern arose from Austin: Can the Fighting Irish fix their defense?

Notre Dame allowed 50 points and 517 total yards to a revamped Texas offense that was among the worst in college football a year ago. Yet, in addition to playing in front a rowdy crowd, the team was breaking in several new starters thanks to graduation and off-field incidents. Irish head coach Brian Kelly acknowledged this after the game, per Paul Skrbina of the Chicago Tribune.

"It's the first game," Kelly said. "There's a lot of uncertainty. ... We had a lot of guys that got their first start. Everybody needs to tap the brakes and relax."

If Kelly is right and Notre Dame does show some marginal improvement, then it has a chance to make some noise and climb back into playoff relevance.

The team hosts Michigan State at home on Sept. 17, which is a favorable matchup. New Spartans quarterback Tyler O'Connor was unimpressive in his debut against Furman, and he will not get a chance to show more improvement, as Michigan State is off next week. The Spartans are more one-dimensional than Texas, so Notre Dame should be able to stack the box to stop L.J. Scott. This should allow Kizer to lead enough scoring drives to give Notre Dame a comfortable win.

Notre Dame then gets another significant chance to enhance its resume when Stanford comes to South Bend on Oct. 15. This game figures to be a shootout, with the explosive Fighting Irish offense taking on Heisman Trophy candidate Christian McCaffrey. This game will be close, but Notre Dame has more weapons and should have a slight edge playing at home.

With teams like Miami and Virginia Tech also set to visit South Bend, Notre Dame should have some quality wins ahead of a road matchup with USC. If the Fighting Irish can run the table the rest of the season, they have the schedule and the personnel to work themselves into the playoff, particularly if that lone loss is on the road to a Longhorns team that should win eight or nine games.

Statistics are courtesy of NCAA.com.