Is there any team in college football this season interested in restoring order at the top of the sport? Parity is just the way we like it as we head into Tuesday night's first College Football Playoff Rankings release after another wild weekend across the Power Four, including USC's upset of Ohio State, Miami's escape at North Carolina and Georgia's clobbering of Florida. No favorite is safe during the season's final month, with various SEC, Big Ten and Big 12 title scenarios tossed in a blender with four games to play before conference championship weekend and Selection Sunday.
We've updated our bowl and playoff projections for all 47 games this postseason, including major changes with the CFP's top-12 and a couple of new teams added to the bowl-eligible discussion. Projection: Jackson State vs. South Carolina State After Saturday's 20-point loss at USF, the next two games are season-defining for the Blazers if their end game is playing an extra game in December.
UAB hosts Charlotte before going to Philadelphia to play Temple, two teams the Blazers should be favored against. Miami (Ohio) has won three straight and hosts Buffalo on Tuesday night in a high-stakes game for the top of the MAC. Speaking of those Bulls, they ride a three-game winning streak into Tuesday night's showdown and had an extra week to prep for the Redhawks.
Five of Buffalo's eight games this fall have been decided by a single possession, and that'll be the expectation this week in Oxford, Ohio, when MACtion commences. Five touchdowns from running back Nate Sheppard pushed the Blue Devils to bowl eligibility against Boston College and keeps Duke's faint repeat title hopes in the ACC alive entering Week 10. Duke makes the short trip to NC State across town next week before playing Miami, Clemson and Wake Forest to finish the campaign.
Win out and the Blue Devils are back in the league championship after SMU's loss at Syracuse was damaging in the standings. Projection: Penn State vs. Arkansas State Finally, the Nittany Lions have a Big Ten win.
They still need two more wins over the last quarter of the campaign to reach the postseason, but should get there with Rutgers and Maryland — the Big Ten's worst squads — over the final two weeks. Since we're expecting more Big Ten bowl-eligible teams than conference tie-ins in December, expect some fluctuation for the league's 6-6 quads like Penn State. Myrtle Beach weather a few days before Christmas is usually mild, and visiting fans can get some quality shopping in before returning home for the holidays.
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