Odds and Ends 9/2/26

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Welcome Back!

Today will be a little sparse, as there were only 8 games this past weekend, and there just isn't much to analyze.


Interconference results

As I mentioned above, there were only 8 games, and 2 were conference games. Here is where we stand so far:

ACC 3-0
Big Ten 1-0
American 1-0
Mountain West 1-3
Big 12 0-1
CUSA 0-2

The ACC is off to a strong start, while the Mountain West and CUSA have stumbled out of the gate.

Intraconference results

The only conference with divisions is the Sun Belt, and they have yet to play a game.

Undefeated/Winless teams

I will start to list these after Week 2 (we just finished Week Zero).

Bowl eligible/eliminated

I will start listing these as soon as teams become bowl eligible (6 wins) or eliminated (7 losses). Look for this in October.


Paul's Playoff Picks

All of my picks are still in play (obviously), but UNLV's chances as the G6 representative have taken a hit, while Memphis' chances have improved.

As a refresher, here is the setup for the CFP:

4 slots are reserved for the P4 conference champions; 7 slots are at-large (any team), but will include the highest rated G6 team regardless of if they are a conference champion. Notre Dame is also guaranteed a spot as long as they finish in the top 12 (can't be bumped by a lower rated conference champion). 
The top 4 seeds get a bye for the 1st round. This year, there are again no allowances made for conference champions beyond being accepted into the field. The next 4 seeds get a home game for the 1st round, and the 9-12 seeds travel to play 4-8 (4 vs 12, 5 vs 11, etc.). Teams are not reseeded after the 1st round. After the 1st round, it plays out like any tournament- quarterfinals, semifinals, then finals, all at neutral sites (which I hope will change in future years).

So the 1st task is picking who will be P4 conference champions and get the automatic berths, and then what other teams from those conferences may get in. So I decided to take this conference by conference. But as I looked through each team who I felt had a chance, I see the potential for each of the P4 conferences to have as many as 6 teams with 10 or more wins! Obviously, they all won't (or at least I hope not) but even if each of the P4 only has 3 teams with 10+ wins, that's already more teams than spaces available in the CFP, if you include a G6 team. And don't forget about Notre Dame! So here's what I think. 

In the SEC, I think several teams have a chance to make the CFP. Georgia is an obvious choice, but there are as many as 8 teams with a chance to get to 9 wins.  Alabama, LSU, Texas, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, and Tennessee all have potential. I can see any of this group of teams to be capable of winning anywhere from 9-11 games, mostly depending on avoiding upsets, and how they do against each other. South Carolina, Auburn, and Florida could be dark horses.

The Big Ten has much of the same problem- as many as 7 teams could win anywhere from 9-11 games (I'm not predicting any 12-0 teams), those teams being Ohio State, Oregon, Indiana, Michigan, Iowa, USC, and Penn State. Washington and Nebraska could be dark horses, as well as Minnesota or some other team.

In the ACC, most of the top teams don't play each other, more than once or twice, so once again we have the potential of having Miami, SMU, Clemson, Ga Tech, Louisville, Pitt, and Virginia getting to 9+ wins, with NC State or Va Tech being dark horses.

In the Big 12, I could see BYU, Utah, Houston, Arizona, Texas Tech, and/or TCU getting as many as 9 wins, with UCF or Arizona State being a dark horse. 

In the G6, I see only about 4 or 5 teams that could get to 11 wins, but as many as 8 could get to 10 wins.

Having said all that, here is who I think makes it into this year's 12-team CFP, presented in no particular order:

Oregon
Indiana
Georgia
Notre Dame
Texas
Ohio State
Miami, FL
Texas Tech
Alabama
Navy
BYU
SMU

Some of you are probably screaming at me right now with, "what about...?" and you would probably be right. This is all just a colossal guess. So to hedge my bets a bit, here are the teams I think also have a decent chance to make it in, again in no particular order:

UTSA
Memphis
Tulane
Louisville
Clemson
Houston
Arizona
TCU
Michigan
USC
Jax State
Western Michigan
UNLV
Boise State
Fresno State
Ole Miss
Texas A&M
Oklahoma
LSU
Tennessee
James Madison
ODU
Troy


This is obviously an extensive list, because I basically listed every P4 team with a chance to get 9+ wins, and every G6 team that I think could get 10+ wins. I am 99.9% sure that I will be wrong about much of this, but I would be happy if I get at least 6 of the 12 teams right, and if all 12 come from these 2 lists.

My pick to win it all is Oregon, which would give the Big Ten 4 consecutive national championships from 4 different teams!


I'll update how my picks are doing each Wednesday throughout the season.


Feel free to leave a comment. Come back tomorrow for Paul's Picks! 

Until next time, may you and your loved ones be blessed!   

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