The college football playoff only takes four teams to end the season, and we are so desperate for a quarter-final that we are grasping at straws hoping that a big game in the middle of the season will be like a first round matchup. This desperation makes the CFP selections important, and I would pick the four most obvious teams going into the last couple months of the season. There is still a lot of the season left to play, but the early college football rankings give an interesting look at who the top teams are this season and could forecast who will meet to decide the title.
Oklahoma and Alabama
Oklahoma and Alabama could make a wonderful semifinal on New Year's Eve, and these two teams are certainly coasting to their conference title games with relative ease. Alabama has been flying under the radar because they are so good, and the Sooners are simply demolishing the Big 12. Oklahoma could lose to Oklahoma State in the Bedlam game, but that is looking more and more unlikely. Alabama might lose to Auburn, but that would require a miracle like the one Auburn had a few years ago.
Washington and Clemson
Washington and Clemson would make a wonderful semifinal, only because they would never see each other any other way. We could not start the season with a game between these two teams because that might seem a bit too far-fetched.
However, Washington and Clemson are so well matched that they might play to a 31-31 tie at the end of regulation.
Will these teams remain the same?
It is highly unlikely that these four teams will be there at the end of the season, and we have completely left out Penn State. The reason that Penn State is not in this final four is that they have to beat Ohio State to exorcise their demons.
Beating Ohio State would catapult Penn State over Washington, and we would have quite a debate at the end of the season over who deserves to play in the playoff more. We almost need a play-in game to choose who will be the last team on the outside looking in.
Who will lose before the end of the season?
Alabama has the greatest chance of losing because the SEC is so strong.
There are a lot of seven and eight-win teams in the SEC that steal victories from other squads, and Alabama has a track record of losing once during the season. We imagine that they are perfect all the time, but that is just not the case. The Crimson Tide are most likely to lose, and Washington falls close behind them. If everyone lost one game, we would be in big trouble waiting for the committee to make their choice, and the choice would be even harder if Georgia were to win the SEC title. What if USC wins the PAC-12 title? What if Clemson loses the ACC title? It is all up in the air.
