College Football Playoff Week 3 projection: Penn State at Alabama highlights robust first round

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Early returns in the College Football Playoff race suggest the SEC will dominate the first year of expansion after the league placed six teams inside the top seven nationally in this week’s updated AP Poll. Texas taking Michigan behind the woodshed along with Tennessee’s 44-point splattering of previously-ranked NC State were barometer non-conference matchups in Week 2 that will be viewed favorably by the selection committee down the road.

After Week 3, my projected automatic bids from expected Power 4 champions along with a Group of Five entry include Georgia (SEC), Ohio State (Big Ten), Miami (ACC), Iowa State (Big 12) and Texas State (Group of Five, from the Sun Belt Conference). 

As for seven projected at-large selections, the selection committee will get their pick of various Power Four. Heavyweights graced with competitive schedules whose finishes in the elite-tier of their respective conferences will dictate placement. Not necessarily following this week’s updated polls, I’m expecting the SEC and Big Ten to gobble up all of those spots at this junction. 

This would leave the ACC and Big 12 as one-bid leagues, unless there’s a one-loss representative from one of those conferences who could trump others for one of the final spots. While Miami is the clear-cut frontrunner at this point in the ACC, the title race in the Big 12 is wide open with Iowa State possessing a notable ranked win over Iowa before league play begins.

Projected College Football Playoff Rankings

Projected College Football Playoff first-round games

(12) Texas State at (5) Texas — Winner plays (4) Iowa State(9) Penn State at (8) Alabama — Winner plays (1) Georgia(11) USC at (6) Ole Miss — Winner plays (3) Miami(10) Tennessee at (7) Oregon — Winner plays (2)…

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Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/college-football-playoff-week-3-projection-penn-state-at-alabama-highlights-robust-first-round/

Author : Brad Crawford

Publish date : 2024-09-10 14:39:59

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