By Justin Parmer
Welcome back to the article that is pain and misery for at least one team every single week. Let me introduce you to the 2020 College Football Playoff eliminator. You may get to know him for a week or throughout the entire season, but the eliminator’s job is to unofficially narrow down eligible teams for the Playoffs before the final decisions are made. 
Last season the eliminator correctly predicted the final four teams in the college football playoffs a week in advance of the final results, although to be fair the rankings were all but set in stone to begin with. But enough about last year’s eliminator, now is the time to go over the rules and regulations of how the eliminator will be shrinking the field during the 2020 season.
The rules: 
2020 will definitely be a weird season for a number of reasons, however due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic we will not be seeing some conferences play till the spring. With two of the Power 5 out, and two FBS conferences exiting the field of play, there needed to be modifications to adjust for the 2020 season. But, before we explain the changes, we must go over last year’s rules …
Preseason Elimination Method:

• Group of five schools that would not face three top-25 teams in the preseason AP Poll

Regular Season Elimination Method:
Group of five Method (and any Independent not named Notre Dame):

• Suffering a single loss on the season

Power Five Method (and Notre Dame):

• Losing two games 

• Losing to a Group of five school 

• Losing to an FCS school or lower

• Losing by more than 30 points

 
So, what exactly are we changing from this rule set? First off, any team not playing before October 10 is out automatically. As much as schools like Oregon and Michigan could in theory make runs for the playoffs this season, you have to play in order to make it in. So, for the Pac-12, Big Ten, MAC, Mountain West, New Mexico State, Old Dominion, UConn, and UMass, they all will not be in the playoffs this season. However, should, let’s say the Big Ten, give the go ahead and play a game before our arbitrary deadline, they will be reinstated as eligible for the playoffs.
So, now that that’s 54 teams down out of the 130, how are we going to eliminate the rest of the field?
Remaining Power 5 Schools (ACC, Big 12, SEC):
The rules for the Power 5 will remain largely intact, and losing to a Group of five or an FCS is still a kiss of death to any hopes at a playoff run for any school that falls into that trap. 
However, since all games for the most part will be conference only, we will bump up cap on loses. A team will still be eligible for the playoffs should they not have more than two losses on their schedule. For example, if Georgia goes 9-1 during the regular season with their only loss to Bama, then loses to Bama in the SEC Conference Championship game, Georgia in the eyes of the eliminator would still have a shot at the postseason. However, Georgia would not be eligible if they went 8-2 in the regular season and took a loss in the conference championship game. 
We also are lowering the blowout score just a little bit. Now, if a team loses by 25 or more points that team will be automatically eliminated. So, no more getting by on a 28-point loss to squeak in a few extra weeks. 
Finally, any loss to AAC opponent will be regarded as a Power 5 loss for 2020 only. This means any loss from the Power 5 to an AAC school will not count as an automatic elimination under the regulations of losing to a Group of Five school. So, for Baylor fans worrying about losing to Houston next week, you are safe if you lose … for now. 
AAC:
With the loss of the Pac-12 and the Big Ten, the AAC gets a massive buff in our patch notes. For the 2020 season, the AAC will not be stipulated to play three or more AP preseason top-25 teams and will be receiving a mulligan game. This means the AAC will be playing under the 2019 Power 5 rules, with the only change being the 25 points now instead of 30. Way to go AAC! It took a global pandemic and two of the top-five conferences to drop out, but you now have a slight chance of getting into the playoffs. Don’t make the eliminator regret giving you this bone. 
The others (Conference USA, Sun Belt, Army, BYU, Liberty):
The eliminator will also be throwing a bone this offseason to the remaining teams that are still competing this season. While the blowout stipulation has changed to 25 across the board, at least the eliminator won’t be eliminating everyone off the bat like it did last year. Everyone in Conference USA, Sun Belt, Army, BYU, and Liberty will be eligible to make it. However, for these teams it’s one and done, meaning one loss and they are out. No pressure whatsoever. 
 
Now, on to the real eliminator:
Now that we’ve established the rules, we can finally start narrowing the field down. Two weeks have gone past in the FBS landscape, and everything is already on fire. Navy’s playoff hopes have sunk, the Big 12 is a raging dumpster fire, nobody knows what in the world the Big Ten is doing, and the Sun Belt has turned into the Fun Belt overnight. So, who lives, whose playoff hopes die, and who is going to tell the story of this week? Spoiler alert, it’s me, the eliminator. Now, let’s get on with it. 
Preseason Covid-19 Eliminations (54):
Big 10 (14)
All schools
Conference USA (1)
Old Dominion
Independents (3)
New Mexico State, UConn, Umass
MAC (14)
All schools
Mountain West (14)
All schools
PAC-12 (12)
All schools
Week 0:
Safe (71):
AAC (10)
Cincinnati, East Carolina, Houston, Memphis, SMU, South Florida, Temple, Tulane, Tulsa, UCF 
ACC (15)
Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest 
Big 12 (10)
Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, Teas, Texas Tech, West Virginia
Conference USA (11)
Charlotte, FIU, Florida Atlantic, Louisiana Tech, Marshall, North Texas, Rice, UAB, UTEP, UTSA, Western Kentucky
Independents (3) 
Army, BYU, Liberty
SEC (14)
Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt,
Sun Belt (8)
Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Louisiana, Louisiana-Monroe, South Alabama, Troy,
Eliminated (5):
Arkansas State
Method of elimination: Loss
Arkansas State put up one heck of a fight against the Memphis Tigers; they came out strong and had the lead at the end of the first quarter. Problem is, you can only keep a potential AAC under cat down for so long. By the time the second half rolled around, Arkansas State was out of gas. They did get compensation last with a win against the Wildcats and might have a strong season in the Sun Belt, but Arkansas State will be sitting at home this postseason. 
Southern Mississippi
Method of elimination: Loss
Southern Mississippi was going to be on the chopping block sooner rather than later. While the offense looked okay under quarterback Jack Abraham, they had no answers for South Alabama junior Jalen Tolbert, who had 169 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Southern Mississippi’s schedule won’t get easier from here, so ripping off the Band-Aid early might be for the best.  
Texas State
Method of elimination: Loss
Texas State was just short of overcoming their in-state opponent to live another week. How this game was even competitive to begin with, the eliminator cannot say. What should have been a cupcake for the rising Mustangs turned into a dogfight against one of the worst teams from the state of Texas. SMU may be worse than we thought and that is going to be a problem going forward for all members of the American Athletic. 
As for Texas State, despite being eliminated, they should take the high road on this one. They exceeded everyone’s low expectations and didn’t embarrass themselves on national television. For that, they should be proud of themselves. Now, losing to UTSA the following week, that’s a problem. 
Middle Tennessee
Method of elimination: Loss/Blowout
Middle Tennessee, meet Army. They will overrun you and overwhelm you with their sheer numbers. Try any counter attacks and the defense will push you back another 20 kilometers. Once Middle Tennessee’s front line was broken, Army was quick to capitulate the Blue Raiders. A 42-0 blowout is a one-way trip to elimination for a team with low expectations this season. 
Navy
Method of elimination: Lose/Blowout 
The entire Navy defense somehow managed to get sunk 30 miles inland. Missouri and Army fans should be grateful they aren’t going to Provo this year, because BYU walked into Annapolis and scorched the place. Whatever ties Navy may have had to the teams of their successful 2010 years were decimated. 55-3 is more than enough to send Navy’s playoff hopes back to the dockyards for a year’s worth of repairs. Even then, that might not be enough to save a program that is sinking more and more as time progresses in a stacked American Athletic Conference. 
Week 1: 
Safe (58):
AAC (10)
Cincinnati, East Carolina, Houston, Memphis, SMU, South Florida, Temple, Tulane, Tulsa, UCF 
ACC (11)
Boston College, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Virginia, Virginia Tech, 
Big 12 (7)
Baylor, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas, Texas Tech, West Virginia
Conference USA (7)
FIU, Florida Atlantic, Louisiana Tech, Marshall, North Texas, Rice, UTSA, 
Independents (3) 
Army, BYU, Liberty
SEC (14)
Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt
Sun Belt (6)
Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Louisiana, Troy
Strike one (3):
Duke
The good news for the Devils is that they got the Notre Dame beatdown game out of the way early and won’t have to worry about it for the rest of the season. The bad news is that they have to go through No. 20 Virginia Tech and No. 12 UNC. It’s a long road to make it to Charlotte’s ACC Championship, but it’s a doable path for the Blue Devils with a little bit of chaos and whatever Irish luck they managed to steal from Notre Dame in defeat 
Florida State 
This is definitely one of the teams the eliminator would like to take out back right now. Unfortunately for the eliminator, losing to Georgia Tech is not a category, and it must wait till Florida State takes its third loss on the year or through another legal method. The eliminator is still baffled how FSU lost this game and how quickly this program has sunken into irrelevance. They let off the gas against the Yellow Jackets, and it came back to sting them. 
The road for the Seminoles won’t get any better either, as the six of their next eight games come against top-25 opponents. Buckle up Florida State, this isn’t going to be a good season like you were hoping for. 
Wake Forest
There are two positives to come out of Saturday’s matchup against the best team in the country: one, you got College Gameday to finally come to your city, and two, you barely survive the eliminator’s grasp by a single point. Wake had no chance in this one, and everyone knew it. 
Now that the big bully is out, Wake has wiggle room to build itself a case for the committee. Early losses don’t have as much weight as late season losses, so facing Clemson first might be a blessing in disguise … if they didn’t have to play Notre Dame two weeks from now. If Wake has any chance of making it in, it will have to be through the defense of Winston-Salem from the Fighting Irish. Otherwise Wake is just wasting the eliminator’s time and energy. 
Eliminated (10):
Charlotte
Method of elimination: Loss
Charlotte was, to put it lightly, outmatched the moment they stepped on the field against Appalachian State. While Charlotte may have gotten the early lead, the end result was always going to be a victory for the Mountaineers. The biggest takeaway from this game will probably be experience going forward, as the 49ers will have yet another tough opponent in UNC this week. Charlotte may be on the rise, but they won’t reach the top of the mountain anytime soon.
UAB
Method of elimination: Loss
UAB didn’t look pretty during their opener against Central Arkansas, but they were still considered in the eyes of the eliminator to be a contender for the Conference USA title. While the eliminator still holds this opinion, the fall to Miami will put the Blazers out of contention for a title this season. They played solidly, but just couldn’t keep up with the big boys. This will be a fun team to watch for the Conference USA title, but the bottom Group of five conferences have lose one of its better contenders. 
South Alabama
Method of elimination: Loss
South Alabama may have escaped the chopping block against Southern Mississippi in their elimination game, but the Green Wave is a different force of nature. Despite their best efforts, South Alabama came just short of the upset, losing to Tulane 27-24 at home. Luckily for the Jaguars, they weren’t expected to do much this season. They’ll get a bye week coming up before heading off to play the aforementioned UAB Blazers in conference play. 
Western Kentucky
Method of elimination: Loss
The Hilltoppers managed to go toe-to-toe with the Cardinals of Louisville for three of the game’s four quarters. However, the one quarter they failed to match Louisville proved to be the difference in this in-state, non-conference matchup. The Cardinals outscored the Hilltoppers 21-0 in the second quarter, giving them the edge in the final score of 35-21. This wasn’t a terrible way for Western Kentucky to go out, but they will not be in consideration for the postseason.
Syracuse 
Method of elimination: Blowout
Under last year’s standards, Syracuse would have made it past the week after getting demolished by Mack’s Tar Heels. However, thanks to our little buff, Syracuse is out of the running by a single point. Syracuse had no answers for UNC and now face the consequences for it. Syracuse can rebound from this thanks to a softer ACC early schedule, but the Orange won’t have any chance of redemption in the eyes of the eliminator.
Iowa State 
Method of elimination: Group of five loss
Chaos gives and chaos takes. Every year Iowa State wins the games they shouldn’t and loses the ones they should. It just so happened the game they shouldn’t have lost on paper came from the “Fun Belt.” Louisiana had a field day, outdueling Iowa State for three of four quarters. While the Cyclones won the second quarter, Louisiana won the second half, with 24 unanswered points. That was more than enough to secure the victory for Louisiana. 
With their loss to the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns, Iowa State is out of playoff contention. While we should expect Iowa State to be above the .500 marker this season, we should also expect the Cyclones to blow away a team or two’s playoff hopes on their path of redemption.  
Kansas
Method of elimination: Group of five loss
If you listen closely you can hear the entire city of Columbia cheering for the demise of the Jayhawks. Oh Kansas, when will you learn? Kansas was outdueled by Costal Carolina on their home turf, and this game wasn’t even close. Costal Carolina had their way with the Jayhawks most of the game and, even with Kansas’s rebound in the fourth quarter, it was far too late to turn the tide. Once again, Costal Carolina gets to smack that Jayhawk piñata and, once again, Kansas is the punchline to every joke in the Big 12. Don’t worry Kansas, you weren’t the only disappointment out of the state this week. 
Kansas State 
Method of elimination: Group of five loss 
Kansas State lost to Arkansas State. A team that was eliminated the previous week, comes back to take out a Power 5 school. Despite Kansas State’s best effort, they had nothing to stop the Arkansas State senior Jonathan Adams in the red zone. Adams torched the Kansas State secondary, scoring three touchdowns on 98 yards. Whatever magic Kansas State had left from the Bill Snyder era is now gone. It is likely going to be a .500 year at best for the Wildcats and a long program rebuild ahead of them. 
Louisiana-Monroe
Method of elimination: Loss/Blowout 
Louisiana-Monroe, meet Army. They will overrun you and overwhelm you with their sheer numbers. Try any counter attacks and the defense will push you back another 20 kilometers. Once Louisiana-Monroe’s front line was broken, Army was quick to capitulate the War Hawks. A 37-7 blowout is a one-way trip to elimination for a team with low expectations this season. At least you didn’t get shut down like Middle Tennessee and made one successful counterattack, but the War Hawks were no masters of war. 
UTEP
Method of elimination: Loss/Blowout
UTEP had to play Texas. That is all you need to know about this game and this team. 
Teams remaining: 61 
Elimination games:
The following games are elimination games, because no matter who wins, one team will meet a criteria that will deem them unworthy of entering the college football playoffs. Here are the elimination games for Week 2 (all times are eastern standard time).
No. 19 Louisiana vs. Georgia State (12:00 PM)
No. 23 Applanation State vs. Marshall (1:30 PM)
FAU vs. Georgia Southern (3:30 PM)
SMU vs. North Texas (6:00 PM)
Edited by Emma Moloney