The final poll prior to the release of my “mock” field of 16 team playoff format shows that (12-0) Alabama remains #1 and (12-0) Western Michigan remains #2. This does not indcate that this how they will be seeded in my field of 16. During my review of the “mock” field of 16 teams for my expanded playoff format, 5 have been officially seeded, with 11 spots remaining to seed. With one OFFICIAL week of college football left with conference championship games and scheduled games in the BIG 12 and Sun Belt Conference, there could be some changes within my field of 16 with games remaining and FBS programs who are in the clubhouse at (9-3) could sneak in to my field of 16.
Scheduled games of importance are; Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State, Navy vs. Army, West Virginia vs. Baylor, Troy vs. Georgia Southern, and a few more. An Oklahoma State win vs. Oklahoma could put (9-3) USC in my mock 16 team playoff seedings, as they are just on the outside looking in for my field of 16. Both South Alabama and Louisiana-Lafayette couls still earn bowl eligibility if they win this Saturday to earn their 6th win. Both of those wins would make a total of bowl eligible programs at 78, with 11 to 13 FBS programs with (5-7) records to be reviewed for any open bowl slots to be filled.
There was some minor changes in this weeks polls with ranked programs from last weeks rankings. Within my weekly rankings this week, there are 5 Big 10 programs and 1 SEC program ranked. This tells me that the best FBS conference this season belongs to the Big 10 this season. When you read the rankings , please be aware of the extra data points in how they are used to make an assessment. Not a subjective assessment, but a quantitative assessment to assist in ranking and seeding. And now for this weeks rankings.
RANK | CONF | TEAM | RECORD | OPP W/L | OPP % | CONF W/L | CONF % |
1 | SEC | ALABAMA | (12-0) | (76-55) | 0.580 | (30-34) | 0.469 |
2 | MAC | WESTERN MICHIGAN | (12-0) | (54-77) | 0.412 | (27-37) | 0.422 |
3 | B10 | OHIO STATE | (11-1) | (84-59) | 0.587 | (41-40) | 0.506 |
4 | ACC | CLEMSON | (11-1) | (79-52) | 0.603 | (33-31) | 0.516 |
5 | P12 | WASHINGTON | (11-1) | (66-64) | 0.508 | (36-45) | 0.444 |
6 | B10 | MICHIGAN | (10-2) | (81-64) | 0.559 | (39-42) | 0.481 |
7 | B10 | WISCONSIN | (10-2) | (76-66) | 0.535 | (41-40) | 0.506 |
8 | B10 | PENN STATE | (10-2) | (77-67) | 0.535 | (35-46) | 0.432 |
9 | MWC | BOISE STATE | (10-2) | (74-70) | 0.514 | (32-32) | 0.500 |
10 | P12 | COLORADO | (10-2) | (80-64) | 0.556 | (41-49) | 0.456 |
11 | AAC | SOUTH FLORIDA | (10-2) | (65-66) | 0.496 | (29-35) | 0.453 |
12 | B12 | OKLAHOMA | (9-2) | (67-60) | 0.528 | (27-41) | 0.397 |
13 | AAC | NAVY | (9-2) | (64-56) | 0.533 | (29-35) | 0.453 |
14 | B12 | WEST VIRGINIA | (9-2) | (58-58) | 0.500 | (33-35) | 0.458 |
15 | B12 | OKLAHOMA STATE | (9-2) | (57-59) | 0.491 | (27-41) | 0.397 |
16 | SBC | TROY | (9-2) | (54-60) | 0.474 | (24-26) | 0.48 |
17 | P12 | USC | (9-3) | (78-66) | 0.542 | (37-44) | 0.457 |
18 | B10 | NEBRASKA | (9-3) | (74-70) | 0.514 | (41-40) | 0.506 |
19 | P12 | STANFORD | (9-3) | (72-71) | 0.503 | (41-40) | 0.506 |
20 | SBC | APPLACHIAN STATE | (9-3) | (67-69) | 0.493 | (24-32) | 0.429 |
21 | ACC | LOUISVILLE | (9-3) | (71-73) | 0.493 | (24-20) | 0.375 |
22 | ACC | FLORIDA STATE | (9-3) | (84-47) | 0.641 | (34-30) | 0.531 |
23 | AAC | HOUSTON | (9-3) | (68-61) | 0.527 | (28-36) | 0.438 |
24 | CUSA | WESTERN KENTUCKY | (9-3) | (67-65) | 0.508 | (31-33) | 0.484 |
25 | MWC | AIR FORCE | (9-3) | (65-65) | 0.500 | (31-33) | 0.484 |
Next week, I will post my weekly rankings and the “mock” fictional 16 team playoff brackets in what could be in the future of college football.
Follow me on Twitter at cfbpoexpert