WEEK 9 - B1G, TOP 25 TV SCHEDULES, RANKINGS and more

Here's my list based on the eye test and who would beat who in an actual game (which is how these rankings should be done IMO--there is no standard definition of the ranking, but I digress):

1. Alabama (though I think they're pretty beatable this year)

2. Georgia

3. Clemson

4. Ohio State

5. Penn State

6. Notre Dame

7. Wisconsin

8. Oklahoma

9. Any number of a hodgepodge of teams. I do NOT, however, think that it's Miami.

The Gipper

Future games that will matter to sort a lot of this out:

Alabama/Georgia SEC title game

OSU/Wisconsin Big 10 title game

Clemson-Miami ACC title game

Notre Dame- Miami

Oklahoma/OK St.

Oklahoma/TCU

Notre Dame/Stanford

Georgia/Auburn

Auburn/Alabama

Clemson/NC St.

Ohio State/Michigan

Note: OK/OK St. is this Saturday...in Stillwater.

mjp28

WELL FOR THE RECORD, TOO BAD THEY DIDN'T HAVE 8 TEAMS THIS YEAR! (or 16 like every other football playoff in the USA)

Here is the first Top 25 College Football Playoff rankings of the 2017 season:

1. Georgia (8-0)
2. Alabama (8-0)
3. Notre Dame (7-1)
4. Clemson (7-1) ________ certainly not done yet!
5. Oklahoma (7-1)
6. Ohio State (7-1)
7. Penn State (7-1)
8. TCU (7-1) _________ the 8 team cutoff, without Wisconsin? TCU/GEO, PSU/ALA, OSU/ND, OKL/CLE round 1, whoa!
9. Wisconsin (8-0)
10. Miami (7-0)
11. Oklahoma State (7-1)
12. Washington (7-1)
13. Virginia Tech (7-1)
14. Auburn (6-2)
15. Iowa State (6-2)
16. Mississippi State (6-2) _________ and 16 teams but I'm not holding my breath on that one
17. USC (7-2)
18. UCF (7-0)
19. LSU (6-2)
20. NC State (6-2)
21. Stanford (6-2)
22. Arizona (6-2)
23. Memphis (7-1)
24. Michigan State (6-2)
25. Washington State (7-2)

mjp28

Other notes top 10 teams (written before Tuesday's rankings came out in SEC Country):

If you swapped Alabama’s résumé with another Power 5 team, there would be a wave of skepticism. The Crimson Tide do not boast a win over any currently ranked teams, and the passing offense has been less effective than last season. But Nick Saban’s team has been obliterating its opponents by 33.25 points per game, and has three opportunities against ranked teams — LSU, Mississippi State and Auburn — over the final month of the season.

It seems we’re headed for a classic No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown in the SEC title game. Georgia has been just as dominant as Alabama, and has not won a game by fewer than 25 points since September at Notre Dame (a 20-19 victory). The ‘Dawgs need to beat four winning teams to close out their dream regular season, including a win over Auburn in the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry on Nov. 11.

Fighting Irish doubters should have seen the light by now. Over the past two weeks, Notre Dame has outscored a pair of ranked teams — USC and N.C. State — by a combined 84-28. The Irish’s only loss was by 1 point to Georgia, and they also have a 20-point win over a ranked Michigan State team.

Don’t count out Dabo Swinney yet. Sure, the Tigers lost at Syracuse, but quarterback Kelly Bryant missed the second half, and he’s apparently back in solid form. The defense is still one of the best in the country. If they can top N.C. State this weekend, they’ll most likely be headed to the ACC title game for a shot at another résumé-building win.

At one point of Penn State’s 39-38 loss to Ohio State on Saturday, the Nittany Lions had a 97.3 percent chance of winning the game, per ESPN’s win probability metric. Penn State was that close to going 8-0 and challenging for the No. 1 or No. 2 spot in the first set of College Football Playoff rankings. Now, the Lions likely need OSU to lose twice down the stretch in order to win their second consecutive Big Ten title.

The Sooners’ big win over Ohio State is probably the most impressive win in the country at this juncture. That alone might be enough to vault OU into the Top 4, and its chances of making the field keep getting stronger as Iowa State — Oklahoma’s only loss — continues to climb in the rankings.

An improbable comeback win against Penn State just saved Ohio State’s season. Now, the Buckeyes have a clear path to the Big Ten title, likely needing to lose twice down the stretch in order to be booted out of their East division perch. Up next: a trip to Iowa City, where plenty of championship hopefuls have had their dreams crushed during the Kirk Ferentz era.

Sure, the Badgers are undefeated, but who have they played? Their most impressive win — and this is not a joke — might be a September defeat of Florida Atlantic. Somehow, Wisconsin’s schedule doesn’t get much harder. They have Indiana and Iowa before closing the season with Michigan and Minnesota.

The Horned Frogs haven’t played many close games. Their 14-7 loss at Iowa State — which is apparently a damn good team — this Saturday was only the Frogs’ second contest decided by 12 points or fewer. The committee will especially like wins at Oklahoma State (44-31) and vs. West Virginia (31-24), and TCU can score more points with the voters in their next two games vs. Texas and Oklahoma.

There’s not a single win on Miami’s résumé that stands out. The Hurricanes have been beating up bad teams and barely slipping past average opponents. But Mark Richt’s team is about to get a couple big opportunities to impress the committee against Virginia Tech and Notre Dame.

wargograw

Sucks OSU and PSU lost. We're going to end up having to watch some teams like OU, TCU, Wisconsin, or Miami get blown out in the playoff while OSU and PSU could have made it interesting with Bama/Georgia.

The Gipper

I believe there are 7 games this week between teams in the Top 25. That means 14 of them play each other.

Miami vs. Notre Dame

Iowa St. vs. OK St.

Georgia vs. Auburn

Wisconsin vs. Iowa

Ohio St. vs. Michigan St.

Alabama vs. Mississippi St.

TCU vs. Oklahoma

wargograw

@the-gipper said:

I believe there are 7 games this week between teams in the Top 25. That means 14 of them play each other.

Miami vs. Notre Dame

Iowa St. vs. OK St.

Georgia vs. Auburn

Wisconsin vs. Iowa

Ohio St. vs. Michigan St.

Alabama vs. Mississippi St.

TCU vs. Oklahoma

Notre Dame

OSU

The team we affectionately call "Barn"

Wisconsin

Ohio State

Alabama

TCU

mjp28

See the WEEK 11 thread for matchups, TV schedule and more.

Week 11 of the college football schedule features multiple top ranked teams facing road challenges.

No. 1 Alabama will play at No. 18 Mississippi State, No. 2 Georgia will travel to No. 10 Auburn, while No. 3 Notre Dame is set to matchup with No. 7 Miami. No. 8 TCU, No. 12 Oklahoma State and No. 25 Iowa will also take on top-25 opponents on the road.