CFP Bubble Watch: A look at every Power 4 team

1 month ago 16

The 12-team College Football Playoff has importantly broadened the excavation of candidates to see immoderate squad that has a accidental to triumph its league -- and that makes every FBS contention substance longer, arsenic the enactment committee's 5 highest-ranked league champions are guaranteed spots successful the playoff.

Heading into the last Saturday of September, the shifting continues arsenic league races are conscionable opening to vigor up.

Below you'll find 1 squad successful the spotlight for each of the Power 4 leagues and different identified arsenic an enigma. We've besides tiered schools into 3 groups. Teams with Would beryllium in presumption are featured successful this week's apical 12 projection, a snapshot of what the enactment committee's ranking would look similar if it were released today. A squad with Work to do is passing the oculus trial (for the astir part) and has a accidental astatine winning its conference, which means a guaranteed spot successful the playoff. And a squad that Would beryllium out is playing successful the shadows of the playoff -- for now.

The 13-member enactment committee doesn't ever hold with the Allstate Playoff Predictor, truthful the pursuing categories are based connected humanities cognition of the group's tendencies positive what each squad has done to date.

Reminder: This will alteration week-to-week arsenic each squad builds -- oregon busts -- its résumé.

Jump to a conference:
ACC | Big 12 | Big Ten
SEC | Independent | Group of 5
Bracket

SEC

Spotlight: Ole Miss. The Rebels gained superior top-12 information this week aft a 4-0 commencement that included back-to-back wins against SEC opponents (Kentucky and Arkansas) and a 45-10 drubbing of a talented Tulane team. Ole Miss is No. 7 successful ESPN's spot of grounds metric, which means the mean top-25 squad would person a 47.7% accidental to execute the aforesaid grounds against the aforesaid opponents. The existent test, though, is connected Saturday erstwhile Ole Miss hosts LSU (3:30 p.m., ABC). If the Rebels win, they should beryllium undefeated heading into back-to-back roadworthy trips to Georgia and Oklahoma. Those are the astir hard games connected the schedule. If the Rebels tin spell 2-1 against those 3 opponents, they'd astir surely beryllium in. ESPN's FPI gives Ole Miss a 67% accidental to scope the playoff.

The enigma: Texas. The Longhorns dropped retired of the apical 12 this week due to the fact that Texas Tech moved in. That doesn't mean Texas isn't a playoff squad -- it conscionable hasn't proved it yet with wins against San Jose State, UTEP and Sam Houston. The SEC play opener astatine Florida connected Oct. 4 is besides a unusual one, arsenic it's a crippled the Longhorns could suffer but shouldn't if they are a existent playoff team. They've got a bye week to hole for it. A Texas triumph won't bash overmuch to reassert its spot successful the nationalist picture, but a nonaccomplishment would beryllium telling. The astir apt result is the enactment committee volition larn much astir Texas connected Oct. 11 against rival Oklahoma, which is successful the projected apical 12 this week.