If the season ended today, here’s how the top 4 championship games would be set up::
- ACC Championship Game: #1 Florida St. vs. #10 Miami
- Big 10 Championship Game: #5 Ohio St. vs. #21 Michigan St.
- Pac 12 Championship Game: Winner of #4 Stanford/#3 Oregon (tomorrow night on ESPN) vs. #16 Arizona St.
- SEC Championship Game: #2 Alabama vs. #6 Missouri
Obviously, there are so many ways this season can go–starting with the game tomorrow night–but let’s say the higher seeds win out. In my fictional college football universe (featuring an 8 team playoff with the 6 highest-rated champions), the top half of the 8-team playoff would be:
- ACC Champion Florida St., probably at #1
- SEC Champion Alabama, probably at #2
- Pac 12 Champion Oregon, probably at #3
- Big 10 Champion Ohio State, probably at #4
That’s a great top half. And in this fictional universe, those 4 teams would host quarterfinals in their home stadiums around Dec 18 to 21. The four visiting teams would be:
- The next best conference champion, which would likely be Baylor, at #11 right now
- The next next best conference champion, which would likely be Fresno State. However, if they lose, their SOS is so weak that they would drop below Northern Illinois, the next best likely champion. But NIU’s SOS is also so weak that it’s possible they could be jumped by the American champ, Houston or Central Florida. It’s not likely, but it’s possible.
- The next two best at-large teams. It’s Stanford and Missouri right now, but with losses to Oregon and Alabama, respectively, it could be any number of teams: Clemson, Auburn, South Carolina, Miami, or BYU.
I’m looking forward to all the great games on tap in November and early December, starting with Stanford and Oregon tomorrow night!
