Breaking Down How the CFP Picture Looks Like After Eight Weeks of Action
The 2022 college football season has not disappointed NCAAF odds fans one bit. After eight thrilling weeks of non-stop action, the panorama surrounding the CFP continues to take more and more shape, with eight teams standing out above the rest as true suitors for a spot in this season’s playoff picture.
As we head into the final weeks of the regular season, let’s run through how each of the eight teams are standing at the moment and what could end up making or breaking their claims for a spot in this season’s CFP games.
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Up to Them and Nobody Else
As of now, Georgia, Ohio State, and Michigan are more than set to make their presence felt in this year’s CFP games. With Michigan and Ohio State set to go to battle on the last day of Big Ten regular-season play, and Georgia having a home game against Tennessee in a couple of weeks, a loss for any of them wouldn’t hurt their chances.
It’s with the Vols where everything turns upside down. After their win against Alabama, all while having one of the best offenses in the country and an elite defense to play second fiddle, it makes absolute sense for Tennessee to be the owner of its destiny here. Can a loss against Georgia define their path? It might, but that’s where their victory against ‘Bama will significantly come into play.
The CFP Committee is all about considering every single aspect of each team’s season before making their final decisions. One important aspect is the level of opponents each team has beaten. With Tennessee already having taken down Florida, LSU, and Alabama, that should be plenty for its bid to have no contention.
A win against Kentucky this weekend will only continue to strengthen the Vols’ claim as they get ready for their most important game of the season, on the road against the Bulldogs.
Contenders
When you talk about the CFP, it’s impossible not to think about Clemson and Alabama. The Tigers and Crimson Tide have become such familiar faces within the College Football Playoff universe, that it would almost feel wrong to not see them make it to the championship semifinals.
Yet, as of right now, Clemson holds an 8-0 record but isn’t necessarily showing their best football at times, and Alabama standing at 7-1, its presence in the playoffs is not ensured as in prior years.
In Clemson’s case, yes, the Tigers are undefeated, but if their win against Syracuse proves anything, it’s that this is a team starting to slide into an unwanted starting QB battle that could end up hurting them badly.
As of right now, DJ Uiagalelei will continue to be the starter according to Dabo Swinney. But after Cade Klubnik’s performance, coming in to take over on Saturday, one can’t help but wonder if the Tigers will be able to keep up while having QB issues to solve.
For Alabama, the panorama doesn’t get any better moving forward. The Tide’s loss against Tennessee in Week 6 came as a roadblock that nobody would’ve expected. Now with two straight road games against LSU and Ole Miss coming up, and visits from Austin Peay and Auburn to finish out the regular season, it’s more than clear that four wins are a must to earn the spot in the SEC Championship Game. And more than that, they have to be convincing wins to sway the committee in their favor.
Pretenders
One team out of the Pac-12 and another out of the Big-12 take the two main spots in our list of pretenders for a CFP spot.
On the one hand, and making some strong strides toward shocking everyone and sneaking their way into the CFP scene is the Oregon Ducks. Led by QB Bo Nix, this Ducks team has gone from tanking in their first game of the season against Georgia to becoming one of the best teams in not only the Pac-12 but in the country.
Both on offense and defense, this team has taken it upon themselves to have a complete turnaround and put on some CFP-worthy numbers.
Over on the Big 12, the hype in the conference all goes to TCU. The Horned Frogs have gone from being a team without a Bowl appearance in the last four years to scratching their way into a possible CFP appearance this season. This year, TCU has been all about taking down ranked opponents.
After beating Oklahoma State and Kansas State in the past couple of weeks, the Horned Frogs have shown that there is no defense strong enough to stop them or no point deficit that they can’t overcome.
With a schedule that only has a game against Texas on the road as their biggest challenge left, if the Horned Frogs make it to the end of the road still undefeated, it will be hard to not buy into their claim for a spot in the playoffs.
