This is it. The college football season and Playoff picture comes down to conference championship weekend, with full rankings out and stakes established. We know which games are Playoff play-ins, which teams need help, and which teams are just playing for nice bowl games.
How Week 14 changed college football’s top 25 picture before Selection Sunday
Keeping track of the Playoff, New Year’s Six, and bowl season fallout from conference title weekend as each top-25 game goes final.
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Below, let’s keep track of Week 14’s ranked games (and other important games) from the Playoff committee’s perspective, which means it’s not only about who you beat, but how it relates to the full picture.
Playoff impact
- No. 1 Clemson 38, No. 7 Miami 3: The Tigers likely lock up No. 1. The only reward this year: not having to travel to Pasadena. They’d host a semifinal in New Orleans.
- No. 6 Georgia 28, No. 2 Auburn 7: The Dawgs are in, seemingly into the Rose Bowl.
- No. 3 Oklahoma 41, No. 11 TCU 17: OU’s in the Playoff, likely the Rose Bowl.
- No. 8 Ohio State 27, No. 4 Wisconsin 21: We now have Bama vs. Ohio State for No. 4.
- No. 5 Alabama vs. nobody: Hoping to become the second team to not win its division and make the Playoff. The Tide do not have nearly as good a résumé as 2016 Ohio State did. Luckily, Nick Saban has argued consistently that non-champs should be considered, despite what a meme would have you believe.
Other New Year’s Six impact
- No. 10 USC 31, No. 12 Stanford 28: Pac-12 champ USC’s in the NY6, likely to the Fiesta Bowl, and should rank around No. 8 or so.
- No. 14 UCF 62, No. 20 Memphis 55: The non-power conferences weren’t eligible for the Playoff again this year, apparently, unless Fresno State had beaten Alabama and Washington, I guess. The Knights are going to the NY6, with lots of people assuming it’ll be the Peach Bowl. Memphis makes a lot of sense for the Liberty, since the SEC won’t fill all its spots.
Other postseason stakes
Also noted below: résumé factors for NY6 contenders.
- Boise State 17, No. 25 Fresno State 14: MWC champ usually gets the Las Vegas Bowl against a decent Pac-12 team. Runner-up gets ... well, it ain’t a great group of bowls. Fresno’s loss hurts Bama and Washington.
- Toledo 45, Akron 28: The Dollar General Bowl vs. one of the Sun Belt’s best teams is the customary MAC champ prize. This helps Miami by adding a win over an 11-2 conference champ.
- FAU 41, North Texas 17: The C-USA champ gets to pick its bid. Might the Owls stay home in Boca? Also, this helps Wisconsin by adding a win over a 10-win conference champ.
- Troy 32, Arkansas State 25: Troy gets a share of the conference title.
- Appalachian State 63, UL-Lafayette 14: App State claims a share of the conference title, and the Cajuns miss bowl season. This helps Georgia a little, by adding a win over a conference co-champ.
- New Mexico State 22, South Alabama 17: NMSU was playing for its first bowl-eligible record since 1999 and likely first bowl trip since 1960. The Arizona Bowl would be an excellent fit.
- Florida State 42, ULM 10: Lol, yeah, the Jimbo-less Noles had to beat ULM in a rescheduled game to keep their nation-leading bowl streak alive. This also helps Bama by ensuring a win over a .500-plus team, a committee metric for schedule strength.
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