College Football Playoff Projections: Week 13

The College Football Playoff Committee has met and will release their rankings for the fourth straight week. Let’s look at some projections for tonight.

The College Football Playoff Committee will release its fourth week of rankings at 7 p.m. tonight on ESPN. It will be interesting to see how they take into account certain team’s losses and wins. Let’s take a look at last week’s College Football Playoff top-10 and what each of the teams did Saturday.

College Football Playoff Rankings (Last Week)

1. Clemson- beat Wake Forest, 33-13
2. Alabama- beat Charleston Southern, 56-6
3. Ohio State- lost to Michigan State, 17-14
4. Notre Dame- beat Boston College, 19-16
5. Iowa- beat Purdue, 40-20
6. Oklahoma State- lost to Baylor, 45-35
7. Oklahoma- beat TCU 30-29
8. Florida- beat Florida Atlantic, 20-14
9. Michigan State- beat Ohio State, 17-14
10. Baylor- beat Oklahoma State, 45-35

There were two losses in the top-10 and it was by other teams in the top-10. This gives both Ohio State and Oklahoma State their first losses of the season.

Let’s take a look at the projected top-four from the College Football Playoff Committee that will be released tonight. Keep in mind, this is not my top-four, but what I think the Committee will do for tonight.

1. Clemson Tigers (11-0)
2. Alabama Crimson Tide (10-1)
3. Iowa Hawkeyes (11-0)
4. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-1)

In my opinion this is the top-four you see tonight. Iowa will jump Notre Dame because the Fighting Irish barely beat Boston College, but they will stay in the top-four after a win nonetheless.

On the Outside looking In:

Oklahoma, Michigan State, Florida, Baylor, and others, as well.

There is still a lot of football to be played and there are scenarios where we could see several different teams make it in the top-four. It’s going to be an action-packed couple of weeks and it will be interesting to see what happens around the landscape of College Football.

And at the end of the season….

Here are the teams that still have a chance at the College Football Playoff after this week. Keep in mind that teams can fight their way back into consideration, but we are taking it one week at a time.

ACC- Clemson

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SEC- Alabama, Florida

PAC-12- None.

Big 10- Iowa, Michigan State

Big 12- Oklahoma, Baylor, Oklahoma State

Other- Notre Dame

Right now, Ohio State is out of consideration as is the Pac-12. Right now, these are the teams, besides Ohio State, that are capable of finishing with one loss and/or winning a conference championship.

I believe the field of four will be decided out of these nine teams and we could see any of these teams fight their way back in the College Football Playoff.

Who do they have left?

• Clemson will travel to South Carolina with the hopes of finishing the season undefeated. Then, the Tigers will match-up with North Carolina in the ACC Championship Game.
• Alabama will travel to Auburn for their final game of the season. With a win or an Ole Miss loss, they will play Florida in the SEC Championship Game.
• Florida will host Florida State for rivalry week and then will play in the SEC Championship Game the next week.
• Iowa travels to Nebraska Friday night for their final game of the regular season. Then, they will most likely take on Michigan State in the Big 10 Championship Game.
• Michigan State will host Penn State and, with a win, will play in the Big 10 Championship Game the following week.
• Oklahoma will travel to Oklahoma State for their in-state rivalry game. The loser of this game is eliminated from any College Football Playoff talks.
• Baylor still has two games left on their schedule. They will travel to TCU this weekend and then will take on Texas the following week to close their schedule
• Notre Dame finishes its season with a trip down to Stanford. The Fighting Irish will be looking to stay alive in the College Football Playoff.

Next: Top 10 Clemson vs South Carolina Games of All-Time

There is our College Football Playoff Projections after this week. These are the teams that still have a shot at sneaking in and it will be interesting to see how the Playoff Committee goes about ranking these teams. Who is your top four, Clemson football fans? Comment below!