College Football Playoff predictions ahead of penultimate rankings

Both Texas and Georgia figure to rank inside of the College Football Playoff committee’s penultimate rankings, which will be revealed on Tuesday night. Georgia was ranked No. 7 prior to beating Georgia Tech 44-42 this past weekend. The Bulldogs should be positioned to move up following the losses of Ohio State and Miami.

While the conference championship games are set, there is still plenty we don’t know about how the College Football Playoff field will shake out. Below are projections from the AJC sports staff and the national media. These are the predicted final rankings rather than a prediction of what the committee will announce on Tuesday night.

Projected College Football Playoff rankings

Mark Bradley, AJC

Analysis: Georgia over Texas in the SEC. Oregon over Penn State in the Big Ten. Arizona State over Iowa State in the Big 12. Boise State over UNLV in the Mountain West. But the result that leaves Alabama, Miami and South Carolina on the outside is Clemson over SMU in the ACC.

Kaylee Mansell, DawgNation

Analysis: Rivalry weekend changed a lot for the rankings this week. However, the real rankings next week are what matter most and I’m curious to see how the committee will determine how to place conference runner-ups. At this point, it looks like a 3 loss SEC team will get a bid and I think they’ll select the hottest football team in the country in South Carolina due to their win streak and their big win over Clemson last weekend.

Brandon Adams, DawgNation

Analysis: The toughest decision for the committee is likely to be which teams earn the coveted 5-8 seeds and get to host first-round Playoff games. The easiest answer seems to be Notre Dame at 11-1. Beyond that, the prediction here is that the two conference runners-up in the SEC and Big Ten and the champion from the Big 12 will also get home games. The eventual Big 12 champion (our pick is Iowa State) will have to make a major leap in the rankings to get there. But historically, the committee likes conference champions, and it might see fit to reward the Cyclones and keep the peace with its conference brethren, who undoubtedly would be upset if the Big 12 falls below the Mountain West for one of the top four seeds.

Jeff Sentell, DawgNation

Analysis: Yeah, Alabama gets in. Those playoffs hopes needed some Muhammad Ali D-Con level roach spray to try to put down. I think that the committee will have a hard time trying to deal with where Ohio State should be ranked after Oregon wins the Big 12 title against Penn State. I’d like for the panel to align the most TV-friendly first-round matchups and avoid rematches where it can.

Connor Riley, DawgNation:

Analysis: Losses by Ohio State and Miami shake up the rankings heading into the final week of rankings. The big thing we don’t know is how the College Football Playoff committee will treat teams that lose in the conference championship games. Could SMU survive a loss this weekend and still make the field? The Miami loss opens the door for a team like Alabama to get in as the final at-large team in the field.

Bud Elliott, CBS Sports

Andy Staples, On3

Stewart Mandel, The Athletic