Week three of college football saw a few big shake-ups at the top of the AP Top 25 poll, and it will affect our current playoff prediction as well. There's a new number one (and two) in town, so how do we see the field shaping up heading into week four of the season?
Rank | Team | How They Made It | Previous Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
1. | Ohio State | Big Ten Champion | 2 |
2. | Texas | SEC Champion | 5 |
3. | Miami (FL) | ACC Champion | 3 |
4. | Utah | Big 12 Champion | 4 |
5. | Georgia | At-Large | 1 |
6. | Ole Miss | At-Large | 6 |
7. | Alabama | At-Large | 7 |
8. | Tennessee | At-Large | 12 |
9. | Oregon | At-Large | 9 |
10. | Missouri | At-Large | 10 |
11. | USC | At-Large | 8 |
12. | Liberty | Conf. USA Champion | 11 |
Despite having a bye week, the Ohio State Buckeyes now find themselves in the top spot of the playoffs. They've been dominate through two games, and our previous number one just got usurped by another conference foe. After a dominating win, and an uneven performance from Georgia, the Texas Longhorns now sit atop the SEC, gaining an automatic bid. Georgia slides down to the first at-large bid now after struggling to put away unranked Kentucky while Miami and Utah still fill out the top four.
No one got bounced from the field this week, although there is some more movement among the at-large bids. After seemingly having a personal vendetta against Kent State, winning 71-0, Tennessee jumps up the board to eighth spot. This is a team that could keep climbing as they've looked virtually unstoppable so far this season, while Big Ten teams like Oregon and USC will be looking over their shoulders for Penn State.
Liberty remains in the Group Five slot, but strong performances from Northern Illinois could mean their time there is limited. Overall, the SEC leads the way with six teams in the playoffs followed by the Big Ten with three.