We are still weeks away from the first unveiling of this year’s College Football Playoff rankings. Heavy has put together the rankings we think we would see if the rankings were released today. While the committee overall values similar things each year, there seems to be a particular area of focus when the rankings are released.
It can range from strength of schedule to the best teams each squad has beaten. It will be interesting to see what the committee will emphasize this year.
What has been clear is Alabama and Clemson are considered the top two teams. There does not appear to be a major difference between the two teams. We gave the edge to Clemson because their schedule has had a bit more quality opponents than Alabama. Week 6 proved to be one of the more chaotic weeks we have seen.
Oklahoma and Michigan were both upset by unranked opponents. It will be worth watching what the committee does with one-loss teams. We have USC ranked a little higher than they are in the standard AP poll simply because of the difficult schedule they have faced so far this season.
As you get towards the bottom of the rankings, three solid teams appear to be fighting to be the top Group of Five team. Two AAC rivals, UCF and USF, appear to be the class of the conference. Both teams have emerged as early favorites to head to a New Year’s Six bowl. San Diego State is also fighting the two Florida teams for this honor.
While the actual College Football Playoff rankings do not begin to be unveiled until Halloween night, let’s take a look at what we think the current rankings would look like.
College Football Playoff: Projected Rankings Week 7
| RANK | TEAM | AP |
| 1 | Clemson (6-0) | 2 |
| 2 | Alabama (6-0) | 1 |
| 3 | Penn State (6-0) | 4 |
| 4 | Georgia (6-0) | 5 |
| 5 | Washington (5-0) | 6 |
| 6 | TCU (5-0) | 7 |
| 7 | Washington State (6-0) | 11 |
| 8 | Wisconsin (5-0) | 9 |
| 9 | USC (5-1) | 14 |
| 10 | Oklahoma (4-1) | 3 |
| 11 | Ohio State (4-1) | 10 |
| 12 | Auburn (5-1) | 12 |
| 13 | Michigan (4-1) | 7 |
| 14 | Miami (4-0) | 13 |
| 15 | Oklahoma State (4-1) | 15 |
| 16 | NC State (5-1) | 24 |
| 17 | USF (5-0) | 18 |
| 18 | UCF (4-0) | 25 |
| 19 | Virginia Tech (4-1) | 16 |
| 20 | Notre Dame (4-1) | 21 |
| 21 | San Diego State (5-0) | 19 |
| 22 | Michigan State (4-1) | NR |
| 23 | Stanford (4-2) | |
| 24 | LSU (3-2) | NR |
| 25 | Texas A&M (4-2) | NR |
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College Football Rankings: CFB Playoff Predictions Week 7