Slowly but surely the winners are being separated from the losers in college football. Only the best teams have a shot at the championship and after week 7, the playoff picture has narrowed once again. Eight perfect teams remain, but how many will still be standing at the end of the season?

Defending Champs Fall

The weekend was filled with many major upsets and more teams playoff hopes have been erased including the Clemson Tigers who won the title last year. Clemson, Washington, Washington State, San Diego State, and Navy were all undefeated before week 7, but no longer have a "0" in the loss column.

In addition, a one-loss Auburn team that still had a shot at the SEC West title came up just short to a struggling LSU team. West Virginia, Memphis, and LSU are all now in the AP Top 25 after knocking off ranked opponents over the weekend.

Michigan, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Miami, and USC all escaped defeat by a slim margin on Saturday because of dismal performances. Only the Crimson Tide remained in the same spot while the other 24 teams moved after a volatile weekend. The top 5 teams in order are Alabama, Penn State, Georgia, TCU, and Wisconsin and they all have perfect records. Miami, USF, and UCF are the other three remaining undefeated teams, but they are a couple games behind because of hurricane Irma cancellations.

Playoff Implications

Week 7 halted many teams playoff bids for this season. Now with the defending national champions taking a loss, the top 5 have a little bit of breathing room. Alabama still looks strong as they continue to blowout their SEC foes. Penn State is coming off a bye but has to prepare for 19th ranked Michigan this week.

Georgia's offense was very productive against Missouri on Saturday and they look to continue their SEC east domination after their upcoming bye week. TCU and Wisconsin should have no problem putting away their opponents Kansas and Maryland this weekend. Alabama is favored to win the SEC and it looks like at this point Georgia is the only team that has what it takes to stop them.

Kirby Smart has to be ready for Saban in December, but until then both teams have a very good chance of winning out.

There is no doubt the winner of the SEC championship will be granted a spot in the CFP bracket. After Clemson's loss on Friday, Miami is now favored to win the ACC title and if they continue to play like they have been, they could make it to the playoff. Clemson still has a shot at the playoff though if they win their remaining schedule.

As far as the Big Ten goes, realistically it is anyone's game. If any of the ranked Big Ten teams win out they will most likely get a spot in the playoff. For the Big 12, they have TCU, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State all poised to take charge if they win out and they will have a championship game this year for the first time since 2010.

The PAC-12 is now the only power 5 conference without an undefeated team. This puts them at a disadvantage for the playoff but USC, Washington, and Washington State control their own destiny at this point so they still have a shot. It is much too early to try and predict which teams make the bracket, but just as it happened last year there will be a power 5 conference left unrepresented and the committee will have a tough time deciding which one.
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