Paul Finebaum updates his College Football Playoff Top 4 prediction, first team out
With Week 9 in the books, the first College Football Playoff Rankings are nearly here. There are still plenty of teams in the mix at this point and there is plenty of room to debate what order each team deserves to be ranked at this point of the season. That includes ESPN’s Paul Finebaum.
As of now, there are five unbeaten teams in the Power Five. All of those teams have very legitimate claims to be ranked highly. On top of that, there are also eight Power Five teams with only one loss. Each one of them will also be making a push for the Playoff. That makes for a crowded Playoff field at this point in the season.
On Sunday morning, Finebaum made an appearance on SportsCenter. There, he gave his prediction for the Playoff top four, plus his first team out.
1. Georgia Bulldogs
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Paul Finebaum has the Georgia Bulldogs ranked as the best team in the country. This comes after Georgia’s most recent win over rival Florida. That was the first game the Bulldogs played without Brock Bowers, but that didn’t seem to slow down the offense at all as Georgia kept on rolling.
It’s been since the 2021 SEC Championship Game that Georgia has lost at this point. In that time, the Bulldogs have won two national championships. So, it’s really not that bold of a pick to have the Bulldogs atop the College Football Playoff Rankings once again this season.
2. Michigan Wolverines
“Michigan was the talk of college football last week, and they didn’t even play,” Paul Finebaum began talking about the Wolverines. He was, of course, referencing the sign-stealing scandal that the program is currently going through. It has, undeniably, been the major story in the sport since that news broke, overshadowing the team in the process.
The Michigan team itself is still dominant. The Wolverines haven’t played a close game yet because they haven’t had to, and even though the schedule has been relatively easy, tough games against Penn State and Ohio State are still to come. Win those and Michigan should be back in the College Football Playoff.
3. Ohio State Buckeyes
There are concerns that some people might have about the Ohio State offense. After all, despite having arguably the best player in all of college football in wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., the Buckeyes aren’t as explosive as normal. Those concerns have seemed to overshadow how much better the Ohio State defense has been this year than it has in recent seasons as the Buckeyes have proven to be one of the best teams in the country.
One major point for Ohio State when it comes to the College Football Playoff is the team’s resume. A road win at Notre Dame, plus the home win against Penn State, made for two of the best wins in the country this season. That can give the Buckeyes some room for error in the process.
4. Florida State Seminoles
In Week 1, Florida State caught the attention of the college football world with a dominant win against LSU. The Seminoles really haven’t given up that attention since then, proving to be one of the best teams in the process. Now, according to Paul Finebaum, Florida State is in a prime position for the College Football Playoff.
Despite the good position that Florida State is in, the Seminoles will likely need to be perfect to make the Playoff. After all, the ACC doesn’t have as many dominant teams as other conferences. So, a loss could be particularly costly. As Finebaum explained, “Right now, I think they’re sitting pretty. They just have to win…should they lose, they’ll have no chance.”
First Out: Oregon Ducks
When Oregon lost to Washington, it looked like the Ducks would have a major uphill battle to climb to get back into the College Football Playoff talk. However, in the two weeks since then, Washington has needed to survive two upset bids while Oregon has dominated two well respected opponents, including Utah in Salt Lake City.
So, while head-to-head does matter, Paul Finebaum thinks the Ducks are the better team right now. Assuming the two play in the Pac-12 Championship Game, again, the Ducks could even avenge that loss and make it a moot point. That would be huge for trying to make the College Football Playoff, but Oregon would still need help from there.
On Halloween night, the College Football Playoff Selection Committee is going to reveal its first rankings. Those will help to shape how everyone else sees the season going from here and will likely have some changes from how Paul Finebaum has predicted things will go. However, until that happens, these projections and predictions are what’s available when thinking about the postseason.