Right now I think there are 19 teams in the playoff picture. Here they are by conference.
SEC
-Alabama
-Auburn
-Georgia
-Mississippi State
-Ole Miss
ACC
-Florida State
-Duke
Pac12
-Oregon
-Arizona State
-Arizona
-Utah
Big 10
-Michigan State
-Ohio State
-Nebraska
-Minnesota
Big 12
-TCU
-Kansas State
-Baylor
Independent
-Notre Dame
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ACC
-Florida State has a pretty easy schedule from here on out. So does Duke. Neither team is playing anyone competing for a playoff spot until the ACC Championship game. If FSU wins that game, they'll have a spot in the playoff.
What we want: FSU to lose the ACC Championship game. If it's to a 1 loss Duke team, Duke will have a shot at the playoff. If Duke loses to Pittsburgh in a couple weeks then that'll put Pittsburgh and Virgina (both 3 loss teams) in control of the Coastal division. Ideally a multiple loss Coastal team will beat Florida State in the ACC Championship, greatly diminishing their chances of making the playoff. Even if FSU lost the ACC Championship, they'd have a shot at the playoff, so it'd be great for them to lose to a team like Louisville, Miami, or Boston College.
Pac 12
-Oregon will probably win the North. They only playoff contender they have left (other than the championship game) is Utah which isn't that hard.
-ASU, Arizona, and Utah all play each other. One team will emerge to play Oregon in the Championship game. The winner of the Championship game will likely make the playoff.
What we want: There are a couple of different ways to look at this. No matter what we want Oregon to lose. A one loss Oregon team losing in the championship game to a two loss south team may keep the Pac 12 out of the playoff altogether. A Utah win over Oregon in the regular season would be huge. The big question mark is whether we should pull for ASU or Notre Dame. I think we want ASU to beat Notre Dame but lose to Arizona or Utah. To get a second SEC team in the playoff, it'll be essential for the Pac 12 to beat itself up.
Independent
-Notre Dame has a pretty easy schedule, and they'll probably be favored from here on out. If they win out, I think they'll make the playoff.
What we want: Notre Dame to lose to Arizona State or USC.
Big 10
-I hate to say it, but I think the Big 10 has a great shot of having a team in the playoff. This is largely because of how horrible most of the conference is.
-The winner of Michigan State vs Ohio State will likely win the East with one loss. They'll probably play the winner of Nebraska vs Minnesota. The winner will make the playoff.
What we want: Again, we want the conference to beat itself up. There's not a ton of potential for that. If Minnesota somehow beat Ohio State and Ohio State beat Michigan State and won the championship over Nebraska, all the teams would have two losses, and I doubt that anyone would make the playoff. If Minnesota lost to Ohio State but beat Nebraska and won the championship, that'd be another scenario where everyone would have two losses.
Big 12
-There's no Big 12 championship game which makes things a little trickier. Fortunately the good teams play each other enough to make weird things happen. If TCU, Kansas State, or Baylor survives with one loss, then it'll have a great shot at the playoff. Kansas State has a tough road because it plays both TCU and Baylor (as well as at West Virginia). TCU plays at West Virginia and against KSU at home. Baylor plays at Oklahoma and against KSU at home.
What we want: Pull for Oklahoma and West Virginia. At least one of Baylor, TCU, and KSU will be a 2 loss team at the end of the year, but West Virginia and Oklahoma could make them all 2 loss teams. That'd put the Big 12 out of the playoff.
SEC
-Alabama
-Auburn
-Georgia
-Mississippi State
-Ole Miss
ACC
-Florida State
-Duke
Pac12
-Oregon
-Arizona State
-Arizona
-Utah
Big 10
-Michigan State
-Ohio State
-Nebraska
-Minnesota
Big 12
-TCU
-Kansas State
-Baylor
Independent
-Notre Dame
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ACC
-Florida State has a pretty easy schedule from here on out. So does Duke. Neither team is playing anyone competing for a playoff spot until the ACC Championship game. If FSU wins that game, they'll have a spot in the playoff.
What we want: FSU to lose the ACC Championship game. If it's to a 1 loss Duke team, Duke will have a shot at the playoff. If Duke loses to Pittsburgh in a couple weeks then that'll put Pittsburgh and Virgina (both 3 loss teams) in control of the Coastal division. Ideally a multiple loss Coastal team will beat Florida State in the ACC Championship, greatly diminishing their chances of making the playoff. Even if FSU lost the ACC Championship, they'd have a shot at the playoff, so it'd be great for them to lose to a team like Louisville, Miami, or Boston College.
Pac 12
-Oregon will probably win the North. They only playoff contender they have left (other than the championship game) is Utah which isn't that hard.
-ASU, Arizona, and Utah all play each other. One team will emerge to play Oregon in the Championship game. The winner of the Championship game will likely make the playoff.
What we want: There are a couple of different ways to look at this. No matter what we want Oregon to lose. A one loss Oregon team losing in the championship game to a two loss south team may keep the Pac 12 out of the playoff altogether. A Utah win over Oregon in the regular season would be huge. The big question mark is whether we should pull for ASU or Notre Dame. I think we want ASU to beat Notre Dame but lose to Arizona or Utah. To get a second SEC team in the playoff, it'll be essential for the Pac 12 to beat itself up.
Independent
-Notre Dame has a pretty easy schedule, and they'll probably be favored from here on out. If they win out, I think they'll make the playoff.
What we want: Notre Dame to lose to Arizona State or USC.
Big 10
-I hate to say it, but I think the Big 10 has a great shot of having a team in the playoff. This is largely because of how horrible most of the conference is.
-The winner of Michigan State vs Ohio State will likely win the East with one loss. They'll probably play the winner of Nebraska vs Minnesota. The winner will make the playoff.
What we want: Again, we want the conference to beat itself up. There's not a ton of potential for that. If Minnesota somehow beat Ohio State and Ohio State beat Michigan State and won the championship over Nebraska, all the teams would have two losses, and I doubt that anyone would make the playoff. If Minnesota lost to Ohio State but beat Nebraska and won the championship, that'd be another scenario where everyone would have two losses.
Big 12
-There's no Big 12 championship game which makes things a little trickier. Fortunately the good teams play each other enough to make weird things happen. If TCU, Kansas State, or Baylor survives with one loss, then it'll have a great shot at the playoff. Kansas State has a tough road because it plays both TCU and Baylor (as well as at West Virginia). TCU plays at West Virginia and against KSU at home. Baylor plays at Oklahoma and against KSU at home.
What we want: Pull for Oklahoma and West Virginia. At least one of Baylor, TCU, and KSU will be a 2 loss team at the end of the year, but West Virginia and Oklahoma could make them all 2 loss teams. That'd put the Big 12 out of the playoff.
