There is no. 1 in the College Football Playoff rankings after Georgia’s win over Kentucky took some of the shine off the Bulldogs. Texas advanced to the Associated Press Top 25 after Arch Manning issued a statement that the Longhorns could not afford Quinn Ewers’ injury.
Steve Sarkisian’s team is one of six SEC teams in the top 10, while Notre Dame’s 66-point blowout at Purdue fueled NIU’s upset victory over the Fighting Irish earlier this month. The Huskies surpassed Texas State as the No. 5 ranked team. 12, with Texas, Ohio State (Big Ten), Miami (ACC) and Kansas State (Big 12) representing the other contributors.
If the season ended today, the CFP selection committee would have to rely on the SEC and Big Ten for their top seven picks. The power of schedule amazes everyone, there. Unless Clemson wins or any of the six remaining ACC teams not named Miami continue to win, it could be a one-man playoff league. The same goes for the Big 12, which continues against Notre Dame (2-1) in hopes of earning more playoff berths.
CFP proposed standards
1. Texas
SEC Champion
Danger to Quinn Ewers it doesn’t take the Longhorns out of the top spot, not after what happened when he left Saturday’s highlight is a win over UTSA. The second group Arch Manning accounted for five touchdowns, including a 67-yard run that was the longest by a freshman Texas since the magic of Vince Young almost twenty years ago. Texas has been dominant in all three phases of the game and has the nation’s best win over Michigan as the league table approaches.
2. Ohio State
Big Ten Champion
Next of regularly selected participants in the title gameOhio State got swept by its first two opponents with a little fight from the opposition and enjoyed Week 3. Transfer quarterback Will Howard seems to be settling into his new offense and true youth. wide receiver Jeremiah Smith already looks like a front-runner. Like Georgia, Ohio State’s animal protection looks the part. The Buckeyes will be tested in the coming weeks during Big Ten play, but they are the clear favorite atop the conference at this point.
3. Miami
ACC Champion
Cam Ward continues to light it up for the Hurricanes. The transfer quarterback torched Florida in the swamp with high-profile throws and five interceptions in Saturday’s 62-0 rout of Ball State. And Miami’s staff-rich defense should come through the middle of the ACC slate, which won’t include Clemson during the regular season. Maybe the ACC Championship is over in Coral Gables, which means the Hurricanes would be sitting pretty damn well.
4. The State of Kansas
12th major player
Expect the presumptive winner of this convention to change in a week. After Kansas State’s shocking upset of Arizona, Chris Klieman’s team is now in the No. 1 spot. 4, which replaces Iowa State. Utah has questions right now about Cam Rising’s hand injury and the Utes battle Oklahoma State on the road this week. Kansas State hosts the Cowboys in Manhattan later this month.
5. Georgia
A 13-12 Georgia win Kentuckywhile it’s noticeable since the Bulldogs played their “D” game and still managed to pull out a conference win on the road, it wasn’t a needle-mover. This is not an exaggeration. There could be concerns offensively that this team might not have the firepower around the quarterback Carson Beck who most thought they would, and the Bulldogs’ offensive line was pushed by a team coming off of a 25-point loss. South Carolina. Georgia he’s good, he’s good in defense and he’s ranked no. 2 in the polls, but there is work to be done.
6. Be a Lady
Ole Miss won the third straight game, so much so that Wake Forest refused to play the final game against the Rebels. That’s right, The Demon Deacons bought their 2025 game on Lane Kiffin’s program in Oxford, which says the Rebels have come a long way as one of the nation’s new forces. Ole Miss is one of only two teams in the nation to not allow a touchdown this season.
7. Oregon
Oregon isn’t leading any of the early spring contests nationally, but Oregon State’s opponent in Corvallis proved to be a much-needed tipping point — the Ducks still deserve an early season boost. After failing to take part in wins over Idaho and Boise State, Oregon’s talent showed on the road and for the first time this fall, Dan Lanning’s team controlled the line of scrimmage with flying colors.
8. Tennessee
Reminder — Kent State is an FBS team and Tennessee it has 65 points at half time of Week 3 of the elimination of Gold Passes. You won’t find a team in the country that sits outside the top seed in its conference after the third week of a season as high quality as the Vols. Saturday’s game at Oklahoma is one of the top games of Week 4.
9. Penn State
James Franklin wants his team to play with consistency on both ends, and the good news is that Kent State is coming to town this week coming off a 71-point loss to Tennessee. They are a dangerous team right now and the Nittany Lions, fresh off the road, will kill them. A bigger test comes at the end of the month when undefeated Illinois — and its big 00 line makes a trip to Happy Valley.
10. Alabama
Wisconsin was supposed to challenge Alabama at Camp Randall, but Saturday’s win was like every other strong win over a ranked opponent the Crimson Tide has dominated under coach first Nick Saban – big hit. Coach of the Badgers Luke Fikell he said after watching his team find themselves at the line of scrimmage. Jalen Milroe he is responsible for a league-leading 14 touchdowns so far, and has not had an interception.
11. U.S.C
Off the board as a preseason title contender, a 2-0 start has changed the outlook for the Trojans under third-year coach Lincoln Riley. Defensively, USC looks like a different program. The Trojans fly to the football and their overall size and weight is impressive. The opening win at LSU was unexpected and Saturday’s game at Michigan is another opportunity to show off the big improvements made during the offseason. That regular season finale against Notre Dame could decide the playoff spot.
12. Northern Illinois
If Notre Dame keeps winning, NIU’s win over the Fighting Irish will be improved. An upcoming trip to ACC foe NC State looks even better now that the Wolfpack have questions up front and are moving to a starting quarterback. It doesn’t matter to NIU how good NC State is — the Huskies just need to win, because there won’t be a better Big Five team to beat all season than what they did at Notre Dame. However, there is continued pressure on the Huskies. They are marked. Unseeded Memphis and UNLV are in the Group of Five here, along with Liberty and Boise State.
First scheduled CFP games
- (12) Northern Illinois at (5) Georgia — Winners play (4) Kansas State
- (9) Penn State at (8) Tennessee — Winner plays (1) Texas
- (11) USC at (6) Ole Miss — Winner plays (3) Miami
- (10) Alabama at (7) Oregon — Winner plays (2) Ohio State
The opening campus games based on the Week 4 forecast will feature Northern Illinois at Georgia, USC at Ole Miss, Alabama at Oregon and Penn State at Tennessee. That would give the SEC three first-round games among its five playoff teams. The most intriguing first contest here is Alabama making the trip across the country to Autzen Stadium. Kalen DeBoer vs. Lanning sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
The winners of those four games would advance to the College Football Playoff quarterfinals in bowl locations that include the Fiesta (Dec. 31), Rose (Jan. 1), Sugar (Jan. 1) and Peach (Jan. 1) . Among the key ties in an expanded playoff game, the Sugar Bowl clinches the top-ranked SEC or Big 12 team in the quarterfinals, so top-seeded Texas will be playing in New Orleans.
Group Five in the overall race
First position The release is still a few weeks away, but keeping an eye on the undefeated Group of Five is a good place to start. As it stands, AP voters show only Top Five honors to NIU, the only program ranked No. 22 this week. Memphis (77 picks) is next after sending Florida State to no good, as is UNLV (54) after its road win at Kansas.
Boise State-UNLV will mark a playoff-type matchup in late October as long as the Broncos and Runnin’ Rebels keep winning. Barry Odom’s team is open this week before playing Fresno State, Syracuse, Utah State and Oregon State before the Broncos. It’s a few 50-50 games first which we are surrounded by.
Conference USA favorite Liberty, who missed last season under Jamey Chadwell, has one of the easiest schedules in the country, so to finish 13- 0 – and help — without winning positions may be the only position. would put the Flames in the conversation.
Going forward with the bubble
Tennessee-Oklahoma, Utah-Oklahoma State and USC-Michigan this week will help establish authority behind perceived rivals throughout the SEC, Big 12 and Big Ten. A loss to defending national champion Michigan would be a major blow to the Wolverines’ league title and playoff hopes.
No two-loss team has ever appeared in the playoffs, but that will change with the expansion. Several of the teams with the most losses in this Week 4 project are expected to come from the SEC and Big Ten based on the schedule challenges many of these quality teams will endure. We also envision a few potential repeats in the playoffs, too, due to the wealth of elite teams from those two conferences.
Despite currently holding a losing streak, Clemson and Notre Dame are in good shape to reach the playoffs with wins. The Tigers’ only setback came in Georgia’s first down as the Fighting Irish had plenty of chances to end a heartbreaking loss at NIU. While independent, the selection committee could not overlook an 11-time winning Notre Dame team that would have wins against Texas A&M, Louisville and USC. Speaking of the Aggies, they are one of the few SEC teams outside of the current top 10 in control of their future, joining Oklahoma and LSU. And let’s not forget Missouri. After beating top-ranked Boston College over the weekend, the Tigers they have one of the best programs left among playoff contenders within the SEC.
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