Bowl Predictions 2017: Projections for College Football Playoff Contenders
The first College Football Playoff rankings of the 2017 season won't drop until Oct. 31, but with eight gameweeks in the books, it feels safe to start projecting which teams are best positioned to jockey for a national title.
Here we'll examine the four teams most likely to qualify for the CFP if the season ended today and break down a few contenders lurking on the fringe of the playoff picture as November approaches and conference action heats up.
Sugar Bowl: No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 TCU
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
The Alabama Crimson Tide are locked into the No. 1 spot, and there's a good chance that won't change the rest of the season if they keep steamrolling opponents in impressive fashion.
That trend held true Saturday, when the Tide throttled the Tennessee Volunteers 45-7 at Bryant-Denny Stadium to move to 8-0.
Alabama has defeated opponents by an average margin of 33.2 points per game this season.
Looking ahead, the Tide have only two games left against opponents who entered Week 8 ranked: a home showdown against LSU on Nov. 4 and a road tilt versus Auburn Nov. 25 in the Iron Bowl.
And while history suggests those games could wind up devolving into defensive slugfests, the safe money is on Alabama outmaneuvering the competition and waltzing into the SEC Championship Game without a blemish on its resume.
The same can't be said of the TCU Horned Frogs, who improved to 7-0 Saturday with a 43-0 drubbing of the Kansas Jayhawks.
That mark is impressive considering it includes wins over Oklahoma State and West Virginia, but the Horned Frogs' road ahead is littered with games that could derail their pursuit of a playoff spot.
First, TCU will have to survive a Week 9 tilt with the Iowa State Cyclones, who already spoiled Oklahoma's hopes of an undefeated season.
But even if they escape that showdown unscathed, the Horned Frogs will have to take down an improving Texas team and Oklahoma in back-to-back weeks.
That's an unenviable three-game slog, to say the least. It stands to reason the Horned Frogs will be on upset alert in all three contests if the Cyclones, Longhorns and Sooners bring their best to the table.
Rose Bowl: No. 2 Penn State vs. No. 3 Georgia
The Penn State Nittany Lions cruised past the Michigan Wolverines 42-13 Saturday. Once again, it was running back Saquon Barkley who stole the show, with 161 yards and three touchdowns from scrimmage.
Thanks to that effort, the Nittany Lions should continue to hold down the fort at No. 2 as they ramp up preparations for a huge Week 9 tilt against Ohio State at the Horseshoe.
And you better believe their status as the Big Ten's top team will be tested Saturday.
Not only will the Buckeyes be well-rested coming off a bye, but they will enter the showdown having dropped at least 50 points in four straight games.
The good news for the Nittany Lions is they will counter with a defense that has yet to surrender 20 points in a single game this season.
Elsewhere, the third-ranked Georgia Bulldogs continue to occupy the early No. 3 spot in the bowl projections after they spent Week 8 relaxing on the couch.
Now headed for the homestretch, the Bulldogs will have a terrific opportunity to capture the SEC East crown if they can take care of Florida in Week 9 and South Carolina in Week 10 before they clash with Auburn on Nov. 11.
Playoff Contenders to Watch
Ohio State (6-1): The No. 6 Buckeyes were off Saturday, so their place in the CFP conversation is safe for at least one more week.
But if Ohio State wants to keep its championship aspirations alive, it will have to close the season in style.
Specifically, that means coming off the bye and capturing a win over the Nittany Lions that would in all likelihood propel the Buckeyes into the top four entering the first playoff reveal.
If they can pull off the upset, running the table will be in the picture since the Buckeyes' remaining tilts will come against Iowa, Michigan State, Illinois and Michigan.
However, a slip-up in Week 9 figures to dash Ohio State's title hopes once and for all.
Wisconsin (7-0): The Wisconsin Badgers have flown under the radar this season, and for good reason.
Although they are a robust 7-0 following Saturday's 38-13 win over the Maryland Terrapins, the Badgers don't yet have a signature win.
And for the time being, it looks like the opportunity to capture one may not present itself until the Big Ten title game considering the Nov. 18 showdown with Michigan isn't as compelling as it may have been at the start of October.
The Badgers will have a case to make if they can close out the regular season undefeated and stun either Ohio State or Penn State in the Big Ten Championship Game, but for now they are fighting an uphill battle based on their lackluster strength of schedule.
Oklahoma (6-1): The Oklahoma Sooners continued to play with fire Saturday, but some more brilliance from quarterback Baker Mayfield (32-of-41, 479 total yards, four touchdowns) and running back Rodney Anderson (19 carries, 147 yards, one touchdown) allowed them to slip past the Kansas State Wildcats in enemy territory for a 42-35 win.
The issue for Oklahoma moving forward is it has no margin for error following a loss at the hands of the Cyclones on Oct. 7.
In other words, the Sooners will have to take down Oklahoma State (Nov. 4), TCU (Nov. 11) and West Virginia (Nov. 25) to stay afloat in the chase for a top-four spot.
It's not an impossible task given Mayfield's pedigree, but the secondary's performance against Texas and Kansas State should raise some serious concerns about Oklahoma's ability to cement itself as the class of the Big 12 by season's end.
Notre Dame (6-1): Don't look now, but the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are making a hard charge toward playoff contention after they romped past the USC Trojans 49-14 on Saturday.
Notre Dame is 6-1, with its lone loss coming by one point at the hands of Georgia in Week 2.
Combine that quality loss with the win over USC, and there's a formula for Notre Dame to sneak in even though it won't have a conference title game to offer one last big boost.
That formula would feature wins over No. 16 North Carolina State (Oct. 28), No. 8 Miami (Nov. 11) and No. 22 Stanford (Nov. 25).
Litmus tests don't get much more daunting than that, but the Fighting Irish are improbably in position to make a statement of epic proportions a season after they sputtered to a 4-8 finish.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
