1. Georgia Bulldogs– This may be a shocker to you, but as of now, they are my number one on my first set of rankings and I’ll back my reason up with the best analysis possible. Five unbeaten teams remain and of course, Georgia is one of them. When I look at the total body of work, the road win in South Bend over Notre Dame and the dominating victory over Mississippi State are the two best wins on their schedule and by far the best out of the entire group. I had them winning the East from the Summer and they have not disappointed me one bit. With a healthy Nick Chubb in the fold along with Sony Michel, this is the premier running back tandem in the nation. Both guys are able to get you over 125 yards rushing and torch up a defense at the same time. Kirby Smart has this football team in a phenomenal position right now.
2. Alabama Crimson Tide– Of course, they were going to be here. It’s not a playoff prediction release without them. When this entire playoff format kicked off, they were one of the inaugural teams and have made it every year since 2015. For as long as Nick Saban is roaming the sidelines in Tuscaloosa, they will always be in the conversation to make the playoffs. The reason why I have them at two is that not much on their resume has truly stood out to me. You could make a case for the win over Florida State in week one as they were ranked third in the country at that particular time, but it’s all about what they have done up to this point. They have dominated a very mediocre schedule up to this point and they probably won’t see any type of competition until the SEC Championship game in Atlanta or even in their finale against Auburn in the Iron Bowl. I think number two is the best spot for them right now.
3. Notre Dame Fighting Irish– What a season this football team has had. I originally stated that Brian Kelly’s job was on the line if they didn’t win this year and I think he’s done more than enough to save his job at the moment. One of my radio associates said it best, when Notre Dame is winning and they’re relevant once again, the game of college football has a different element around it. They sit at 7-1 right now and have won six games in a row since falling to Georgia in that week two showdown. They’ve dominated Michigan State, USC and North Carolina State, all opponents that are ranked and two of these wins, they captured in back to back weeks. As long as Josh Adams and Brandon Wimbush continue to play at the high levels that they are, more will start to notice this team.
4. Ohio State Buckeyes– Prior to their game on Saturday against Penn State, I stated that the winner would have a much higher chance of hearing their name called during the first set of rankings on Tuesday night and the loser would drop out the hunt in the first four, but not by much as they’d still be in the running for the postseason by basically winning out. Just imagine the headache that they are going to create for the committee over the next month or so. Right now, this is the class of the Big Ten after that epic come from behind win against Penn State at the shoe on Saturday. If they win out and win the Big Ten Championship in December (if they make it there), they would be in very solid shape as a conference champion with one loss.
