By Justin Parmer
With only five weeks left, the number of teams left in the hunt is down to 13. As the field continues to cut itself down, columnist Justin Parmer takes a look at who lived, who got put on ice, and who got eliminated in this weeks College Football Playoff Eliminator.
Regular Season Elimination Method
Power-five Method (and Notre Dame)
- Losing two games
- Losing to a group-of-five school
- Losing to an FCS school or lower
- Losing a game by 30 or more points.
Teams remaining safe (7)
ACC (1)
Clemson
Big Ten (3)
Minnesota, Ohio State, Penn State
Big 12 (1)
Baylor
SEC (2)
Alabama, LSU
On the brink of elimination (6)
Florida (7-1)
No changes. Bye week.
Georgia (6-1)
No changes. Bye week.
Oklahoma (7-1)
It wasn’t Texas who beat the Sooners. It wasn’t the Cougars of Houston who took down Oklahoma. It wasn’t even the wagon that came apart that spelled doom. No it was Kansas state. Don’t ask the eliminator how the Wildcats managed to pull of one of the biggest upsets of the season, they just did. Even with the Sooners comeback.
With Oklahoma loss, the Big 12 is now on the outside looking in, heading into week 9 of the season. Even if Baylor were to run the table and win the Big 12, a hypothetical victory against Oklahoma is now devalued. If Oklahoma were to win out, then the Sooners would likely lose out to the loser of the SEC west championship game in Tuscaloosa.
If Oklahoma wants to get back into the college football playoff race, they are going to need some serious help, which would include but not limit to Clemson losing, Ohio State losing, Penn State losing, Florida losing, Oregon losing one more game and Utah losing. If all that happens than maybe Oklahoma can get back into the top four. But for now, Oklahoma is on thin ice.
Oregon (7-1)
Oregon was one minute away from the jaws of the eliminator for good. Down by 1 entering the final minute of the game after Washington State scored their final touchdown, it seemed like the Ducks were finally cooked. Yet thanks to the late game heroics by Camden Lewis, the Ducks scrape by with another victory and take full advantage of Oklahoma’s misfortunes. The Duck now only have one more week before the bye as they play the Trojans in Olympic Stadium to wrap up the gauntlet. Should the Ducks exit the Coliseum alive, they’ll be in a great position heading into the first week of the College Football Playoff rankings.
Utah (7-1)
Utah got out quick and fast. By the time the game hit the halfway marker the game was well under control for the Utes. A 35- 0 victory against a former top 25 is not a bad way to follow up an impressive victory against Arizona State. However, Utah is not out of the woods just yet.
The Utes will have one more big challenge up ahead. A trip to Huskie land will decide whether or not Utah heads into their final bye with a shot at the College Football Playoffs. And with UCLA, Arizona and Colorado all scheduled after the bye, the game in Washington on Friday could very well put Utah in the conversation for a playoff berth heading into the final week of the season, thanks to the misfortunes of the Sooners. The PAC 12 is alive and well.
Wake Forest (6-1)
No changes. Bye week.
Eliminated (3)
Auburn (6-1)
Method of elimination: two losses
Well, at least the Tigers made a game out it. That will likely be the closest anyone comes to beating LSU in Death Valley. In a game that came down to the final minutes of play, Auburn just didn’t have enough at the end of the day to overthrow the second ranked team in the country. And while the eliminator would be intrigued to hear the theories about how the Auburn Tigers could make the playoffs if they were to win the West, they would need both Bama and LSU to lose twice. Sorry Auburn fans, you may not get a natty this year, but you are still in a prime position for a New Year 6 Bowl game. So long as they can beat the Bulldogs or the Roll Tide.
Wisconsin (6-1)
Method of elimination: two losses/blowout
Wisconsin did everything they had to do to keep Ohio State within their grasp… For a half. Once the 3rd quarter began, everything went down the drain as Ohio State kept beating you over the head with his majesty Justin Fields. When Fields had enough of beating up the Badgers, they turned to J.K. Dobbins to finish the job.
Even if the Badgers somehow redeem themselves in the Big Ten Championship game, a two loss Wisconsin team isn’t going to beat out a one loss Pac 12 Oregon or a one loss Big 12 Oklahoma. Also losing by 31 points doesn’t equal College Football Playoff worthy material. Just ask the 2017 Ohio State Buckeyes.
Notre Dame (5-1)
Method of elimination: two losses/blowout
Name the eliminator a more overrated team in College Football. If you said Michigan, you’d be severely mistaken. The correct answer is the Irish of Notre Dame. Want proof? How about a 45-14 nuclear blowout in the Big House. There isn’t anything more that needs to be said. So, to the College Football Playoff committee. For the sake of the spot please for the love of all that is considered holy, do not put Notre Dame anywhere near the top 10. This probably means the committee will rank them 9th ahead of all of the one loss teams won’t it.
Total number of teams Eliminated: 17
Remaining Teams Games
The following are between teams that still have a shot at making the college football playoffs. Here are the elimination games for week ten. All times are eastern standard time.
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 ten. All times are eastern standard time.
Nov. 2 Georgia vs Florida (Jacksonville) (3:30 PM)
Previously Eliminated
Week 8
Michigan (Big Ten)
Arizona State (PAC 12)
Week 7
Virginia (ACC)
Iowa (Big Ten)
Texas (Big 12)
Week 6
Michigan State (Big Ten)
Kansas State (Big 12)
Oklahoma State (Big 12)
California (PAC 12)
Washington (PAC 12)
Week 5
Boston College (ACC)
North Carolina State (ACC)
Virginia Tech (ACC)
Nebraska (Big Ten)
Iowa State (Big 12)
Texas Tech (Big 12)
Washington State (PAC 12)
Mississippi State
Week 4
Navy (AAC)
Louisville (ACC)
North Carolina (ACC)
Northwestern (Big Ten)
TCU (Big 12)
Arkansas (SEC)
Kentucky (SEC)
Texas A&M (SEC)
Week 3:
Pittsburgh (ACC)
Illinois (Big 10)
Indiana (Big 10)
Maryland (Big 10)
Colorado (PAC 12)
USC (PAC 12)
Stanford (PAC 12)
South Carolina (SEC)
Week 2:
Cincinnati (AAC)
Tulane (AAC)
Miami (ACC)
Syracuse (ACC)
Rutgers (Big Ten)
Kansas (Big 12)
Oregon State (Big 12)
West Virginia (Big 12)
Northern Illinois (MAC)
Western Michigan (MAC)
Vanderbilt (SEC)
Week 1:
Houston (AAC)
Duke (ACC)
Florida State (ACC)
Georgia Tech (ACC)
Purdue (Big 10)
FAU (Conference USA)
Middle Tennessee (Conference USA)
Kent State (MAC)
Miami (OH) (MAC)
Mississippi (SEC)
Tennessee (SEC)
UCLA (Pac 12)
Week zero:
Arizona (Pac 12)
Preseason:
Connecticut (AAC)
East Carolina (AAC)
Memphis (AAC)
SMU(AAC)
Temple (AAC)
UCF(AAC)
Alabama-Birmingham (Conference USA)
Charlotte (Conference USA)
Florida International (Conference USA)
Louisiana Tech (Conference USA)
Marshall (Conference USA)
North Texas (Conference USA)
Rice (Conference USA)
Southern Mississippi (Conference USA)
Texas San-Antonio (Conference USA)
Western Kentucky (Conference USA)
Akron (MAC)
Ball State (MAC)
Bowling Green (MAC)
Buffalo (MAC)
Central Michigan (MAC)
Eastern Michigan (MAC)
Ohio (MAC)
Toledo (MAC)
Air Force (Mountain West)
Boise State (Mountain West)
Colorado State (Mountain West)
Fresno State (Mountain West)
Hawaii (Mountain West)
Nevada (Mountain West)
New Mexico State (Mountain West)
San Jose State (Mountain West)
UNLV (Mountain West)
Utah State (Mountain West)
Wyoming (Mountain West)
Missouri (SEC)*
Appalachian State (Sun Belt)
Arkansas State (Sun Belt)
Coastal Carolina (Sun Belt)
Georgia State (Sun Belt)
Georgia Southern (Sun Belt)
Louisiana (Sun Belt)
Louisiana Monroe (Sun Belt)
South Alabama (Sun Belt)
Troy (Sun Belt)
Texas State (Sun Belt)
Army (Independent)
BYU (Independent)
Liberty (Independent)
New Mexico State (Independent)
UMass (Independent)
*Missouri is bowl ineligible but is currently in the appeals process.