Clemson Football: Predicting the 2nd CFP Rankings
By John Chancey
The Clemson football loss to Notre Dame on Saturday dealt the Tigers a significant blow to their ambitions to return to the playoffs. Their chances aren’t completely gone, but they are on life support.
Clemson wasn’t the only program that saw their road to the playoffs become much more difficult. Alabama, the prototype program that gets second chances, will now need a third chance after losing to LSU. Spoiler alert: third chances aren’t common.
Tennessee played a difficult opponent in defending champion Georgia, but they were never in contention in the game, and will now need to convince the committee that they should be in the playoffs with a loss and no division championship, much less a conference championship.
We also have last week’s drama about TCU being ranked behind Clemson, Michigan, and Alabama. We know the Tigers and the Crimson Tide will drop back after losses, but did TCU change any minds with a ten-point win at home against Texas Tech?
The bottom half of the Top 25 isn’t the focal point for a lot of fans, but we can expect quite a bit of turnover. Kansas State, Illinois, Oklahoma State, Syracuse, Wake Forest, and Oregon State all lost after their debut in the rankings. Will some hang on and stay ranked? Who will fill in the void from as many as four teams exiting?
The committee will unveil its new Top 25 rankings Tuesday. Here is how it might look.