10 teams still have a shot to make the College Football Playoff with one week to go by Cork Gaines on Nov 28, 2016, 12:46 PM Advertisement
 We got a little clarity in Week 13 of the college football season when Ohio State beat Michigan in a double-overtime thriller. But there is still a lot up in the air with one week to go. At most, only two of the four spots in the College Football Playoff are locked up as we head to championship weekend. With four Power-5 conferences playing championship games and the other (the Big 12) playing a de facto championship game, there are ten teams that can still make a case for being part of the playoff, depending on how those games break down. Below we take a look at those ten teams and how they can still get in to college football's final four (Vegas odds via Vegas Insider and playoff chances via FiveThirtyEight). Alabama (12-0)  Playoff ranking before the weekend: 1 Vegas odds to make playoff: 5/8 FiveThirty Eight's chances to make playoff: 92% The case for making the playoff: Alabama is the lone undefeated team left among the 66 teams in Power-5 conferences and notable independents. They are also 5-0 against teams currently ranked in the top 25. Ohio State (4-1), Clemson (3-0), and Michigan (3-1) are the only other teams with more than two wins against currently ranked teams. The case for being left out of the playoff: There is none. How they can make the playoff: It is hard to imagine a scenario in which Alabama is left out of the playoff at this point. Maybe if they lost to Florida in the SEC championship game by 50 points, you can start to have a conversation. But even then, Alabama would probably still get in.
Ohio State (11-1)  Playoff ranking before the weekend: 2 Vegas odds to make playoff: 5/2 FiveThirty Eight's chances to make playoff: 90% The case for making the playoff: Ohio State is the second-best team in the country and it would be hard to leave one of the two best teams out of a four-team playoff. Their four wins against currently ranked teams is second only to Alabama and three of those wins are against teams currently in the top seven (Michigan, Wisconsin, Oklahoma). The case for being left out of the playoff: Ohio State won't compete for the Big Ten championship. In addition, if Penn State does beat Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship game, the Nittany Lions will be Big Ten champs and will have beaten Ohio State head-to-head. How can you put Ohio State in and leave Penn State out? How they can make the playoff: Ohio State will not play during championship weekend. At this point, the best-case scenario for Ohio State is to have Wisconsin win the Big Ten championship to eliminate Penn State. But even if Penn State wins, it seems more likely that both Ohio State and Penn State gets in, as opposed to Penn State getting in and Ohio State being left out.
Clemson (11-1)  Playoff ranking before the weekend: 4 Vegas odds to make playoff: 11/2 FiveThirty Eight's chances to make playoff: 77% The case for making the playoff: If Clemson wins the ACC championship (vs. Virginia Tech), they will be the champions of a Power-5 conference and will be one of only three or four teams with fewer than two losses. They are also 3-0 against teams currently ranked. The case for being left out of the playoff: The three wins against ranked teams are all against teams outside the top 10 (Florida State, Louisville, Auburn) and all were by less than a touchdown. Clemson also has the ugliest loss for any of the top-six teams, a 43-42 loss to Pitt at home and have had several other close calls against weaker opponents. How they can make the playoff: Clemson's path is simple: win the ACC championship and they are in. Lose to Virginia Tech and they are out.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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