Finally, it’s the moment we have all been waiting for, the first edition of Shad’s College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings of the season.
Fine, yes, the real rankings you are probably waiting for will be released by the “real” CFP committee Tuesday evening, but since I have yet to receive my invitation for the actual CFP panel (I hope they didn’t send it to my old address), I have decided to do my own.
However, instead of doing an entire Top 25, I will only do a top four. This is my projection of the actual Playoff at the end of the season, not on current merit or ranking. With a whole month of the season left, those initial rankings by the “real” committee will most likely be laughable history.
1. Florida State
I’m not sure these guys are as good as they were a year ago when they were annihilating teams en route to an undefeated national championship campaign, but the remaining teams on their schedule are very similar to Mama Shad’s wonderful cupcakes.
There is no one on the rest of the Seminoles’ schedule who is even close to being as scary as I was back in sixth grade when I was Darth Vader for Halloween (#tbt), and I fully expect them to run the table and finish the regular season undefeated.
Even if redshirt sophomore quarterback Jameis Winston gets suspended for a couple games thanks to several off-field incidents, I would still be surprised if they lost a game.
2. Georgia
The Bulldogs are legitimate. They are an extremely balanced team that has been a bit under the radar since they reside in the other SEC division (the East, is it?), but they seem to be gaining momentum with every coming week, even with the Todd Gurley suspension.
Good news for Georgia fans too, with the team applying for his reinstatement and the NCAA revisiting its policy on autographs, it seems like Gurley will be returning at some point. Adding a rested Gurley to this team almost seems a little unfair. The Bulldogs also have a favorable schedule, with just one true road game at Kentucky while getting their toughest remaining task, Auburn, at home.
Georgia is also my lone representative from the SEC. I believe that whoever emerges from the SEC West will just be too beat up and tired from the gruel they had to endure, and Georgia is definitely good enough to upset a fatigued and banged up SEC West team on a neutral field in the conference title game.
3. TCU
Head coach Gary Patterson has built up a stout defensive reputation at TCU during his tenure, and he might finally have an offense just as explosive. With the defense a little less formidable than in years past, junior quarterback and Heisman contender Trevone Boykin has picked up the slack.
Their lone loss of the season was the result of a wacky 21-point fourth quarter comeback by Baylor. That game also happened at Baylor, and the defense has come back to life since. The Horned Frogs have two very tough contests coming up, at West Virginia and home for Kansas State, a game that should be the play-in for the Big 12 Playoff representative.
I give the nod to TCU in both of those. The Horned Frogs have shown they have what it takes on the road by barely losing at Baylor, and the Kansas State game is at home in front of what should be a rowdy crowd for a team on the verge of the Playoff.
4. Notre Dame
A one-loss Notre Dame team was always going to get into the Playoff based on who they are as a program, but this squad is actually for real.
Going into Tallahassee and almost knocking off the reigning undefeated national champion Florida State (and they should have won had their receiver not been so blatant in his pick attempt) is no small feat. If they can do that, then I believe they can go to Arizona State and USC and beat their last two tough opponents.
This spot (or TCU’s) could go to a one-loss Pac-12 champion, but the best team in that conference, the Oregon Mariotas, have some real issues on defense and the offensive line, and I absolutely do not trust them to win out and remain at one loss.
What do you think of Rushad’s four predictions? Will the SEC West really miss out on the Playoff? Send Rushad an email at machhi@wisc.edu and tell him your thoughts.
