1. Georgia Bulldogs: A bye week came and gone, no problem. Usually after a bye week, teams experience some rust and I’ve been known to say that at both levels of the game. They didn’t look rusty in the slightest last weekend against the Florida Gators. This defense continues to roll at the pace they’ve been on all season long. The offense is doing just enough to stay in games. They will not lose before the SEC title game on December 4th. There’s no way I see it happening.
2. Michigan State Spartans: That was some win, wasn’t it? In a year where the Heisman race has been more wide open than it’s been in years, Kenneth Walker III introduced himself as the frontrunner for the award after his performance against Michigan when he scored five touchdowns. Now I can admit that last Tuesday when the playoff rankings were revealed, I didn’t expect to see them in the inaugural field of four. At this moment, they have their sights set on making the playoffs for the first time since 2015. They’ll face Purdue today. Watch out, this has trap game written all over it.
3. Alabama Crimson Tide: They still have that one loss on the resume courtesy of Texas A&M. Despite that, this is still one of the three best teams in the country that will dominate anyone. At this rate, they will be favored against any team they play except for one, the Georgia Bulldogs. Again, every game for them is a must win. They can’t cruise through anything because of the loss they have. Just as I said about another team, this is another group I don’t see losing anytime soon.
4. Oklahoma Sooners: I made a case for them being in that opening field of four last Tuesday. When I predicted what the first set of four would be, I actually had them at the two when I tweeted it. They have the longest winning streak in the country dating back to last season. Now, they haven’t looked back since Lincoln Riley made the decision to bench Spencer Rattler for Caleb Williams. At this point, they control their own destiny. I feel if they close out the regular season undefeated and win another Big-12 conference title, it’ll be tough to ignore them for a playoff spot come January.
5. Cincinnati Bearcats: I didn’t like how they looked last week. They allowed one-win Tulane to hang around. Despite that, I’ve enjoyed watching them all year long. Desmond Ridder is the real deal, they run the football with Jerome Ford and they play great defense. Also, they still have one of the best wins of the season with the victory in South Bend against Notre Dame. I’d really like to see a non-power five team make the field of four. They’ve done everything to be considered a playoff team.
