With the NCAA College Football Season in Week 11, teams have officially kicked off their playoff push for their shot at making the cut. This year, we have a decent amount of teams that still have a shot at making it into the NCAA College Football Playoffs and with about 3-4 games remaining in the regular season, several teams are in must win situations, each and every week from here on out.
The current top four teams as of Tuesday Night, November 7, are:
- Georgia Bulldogs 9-0
- Alabama Crimson Tide 9-0
- Notre Dame 8-1
- Clemson 8-1
Georgia Bulldogs Remain #1
Georgia Bulldogs have been #1 in back to back weeks and this week face a tough Auburn team that is ranked #10 in the College Playoff Rankings. If the Bulldogs get past Auburn this week, they have a legitimate shot at going undefeated as their two remaining games in the regular season are against Kentucky and Georgia Tech. The Bulldogs are currently +400 at Bovada to win the 2017-2018 College Football National Championship.
Crimson Tide Favorite To Win Championship
The Alabama Crimson Tide are also undefeated at 9-0 and are listed as a -140 favorite to win the 2017-2018 College Football National Championship. Nick Saban’s team will face Mississippi State this week, then will have a basic bye week against Mercer and then end the regular season on November 25 against the Auburn Tigers. The Crimson Tide have to be the favorite, even though the ranking system has them in the 2 hole, based on the fact that they have a very reliable QB in Jalen Hurts and one of the best defenses in the NCAA! The Tide will be once again very tough to beat going forward this year.
Fighting Irish Strength Of Schedule Stands On Its Own Merit
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have played the 2nd strongest schedule in the NCAA. They are 8-1 on the year with their only loss coming to #1 Georgia Bulldogs. The Irish have wins over #12 Michigan State and #23 NC State, and this week face #7 Miami Florida. After this week, the Irish will face Navy, before closing out the regular season against the Stanford Cardinals. The Irish are a very profitable +700 to win the NCAA National Championship, which is actually very good odds considering they only lost to Georgia by 1 point in the second game of the year by the final score of 20-19.
Clemson Looking To Prove They Are Worthy Of Shot To Defend Their Title
Coming in at #4 in the rankings is the defending National Champions, Clemson Tigers. Clemson is also +700 over at Bovada and that number is going to continue to go down as they have a very weak ending to the season on the schedule. This week, they face a weak Florida State squad, then face the Citadel, before wrapping up the regular season with their inner state rival South Carolina.
Teams On The Outside Looking In:
- Oklahoma 8-1
- TCU 8-1
- Miami Florida 8-0
- Wisconsin 9-0
The First Two Out Face Off This Week
The first two out of the playoffs will face off this week as #5 Oklahoma will face off with #6 TCU. This game has HUGE implications on the playoffs as they both sit right on the bubble, hoping to impress the ranking officials to jump them over Clemson and/or Notre Dame. Oddsmakers have Oklahoma listed at +1400 while TCU is sitting at a very profitable +4000 to win the 2017-2018 NCAA National Championship. This game this week is basically an elimination game as the winner will certainly do no worse than the 5th spot, while the loser will have 2 losses and eliminated from contention. Oklahoma has a somewhat easy remainder of the schedule if they can get past the Horned Frogs this week, as they face Kansas next week and West Virginia in the final week of the regular season. If you think the Sooners have a easy finish to the regular season, wait until you see who TCU plays. They will face Texas Tech next week and Baylor in the final game of the regular season. Texas Tech and Baylor have a combined record of 5-13 this year so this game against the Sooners is ever so important to the Horned Frogs.
Miami Florida’s Season Could Be Decided This Week
Miami is in a unique situation as they will face Notre Dame this week but will end their season against Virginia and Pittsburgh. The Hurricanes are not going to get any credibility points for facing the Cavaliers or Panthers so they need to make a stance this week in manhandling the Fighting Irish, a task that is easier said than done! Miami is +1600 to win the NCAA National Title but they are going to need some help to get into the playoffs as they sit in the #7 spot, three spots up from last week.
Wisconsin Control Their Own Destiny
The Wisconsin Badgers may have the easiest path into the College Football Playoffs as they have plenty of opportunity to impress the ranking system over the next three games. This week, they face off with a tough Iowa Hawkeyes team before hosting the Michigan Wolverines, then wrapping up the season against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. The Badgers are currently +1600 at MyBookie.
but if they can get some help above them if one or two teams lose, they will be in a great spot to gain those strength of schedule points. Don’t be shocked if the Badgers sneak their way into the playoffs in the final week of the regular season.
