Big Natural’s CFP Projections: Week 9, 2018

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I swore I wouldn’t do this column anymore. No one read it last year – seriously, I would get maybe 20 hits on a good week. After that, I said, “there’s no point in doing these anymore,” and I canceled the column. Well…I couldn’t keep it at bay any longer…I’ve decided to resurrect the beast. Luck be a lady tonight and that’s showbiz, baby. LFG.

Two years ago, I painted a pretty clear picture of why college football needs an eight-team playoff.  I stand by that argument – eight is the way…no more, no less. So, I’ve started a new weekly column looking at what the College Football Playoff would look like under my format. I think it’s a reasonable way to determine a National Champion without leaving deserving candidates out, but making sure everyone has an equal chance to get in. With that said, let’s dive right in to my weekly College Football Playoff projections…

So, this is it – this is what the playoff teams would look like for 2018 under my format…

BIG NATURAL’S COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF PROJECTIONS

1. Alabama Crimson Tide (SEC Champion) – It was a bye week for Nick Saban and company, so nothing’s going to change at the top.

2. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Wild Card #1) – The way that Northwestern and Syracuse have been playing as of late, Notre Dame’s remaining schedule might not be as easy a task as we initially thought it would be. I still say USC is a cakewalk, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Wildcats to give them fits this week. That said, I love the body of work they’ve had so far, and think they’ve clearly demonstrated that they’re one of the four best teams in the country.

3. Michigan Wolverines (Big Ten Champion) – I’m high on the work the Wolverines have put in this season, and though the Big Ten is not as good as we thought it’d be (looking at you, Wisconsin), Jim Harbaugh‘s squad is rolling. Plus, every week Notre Dame remains undefeated, the better their one loss looks.

4. Clemson Tigers (ACC Champion) – The ACC is bad this year, plain and simple. The Tigers absolutely cannot slip up – not even once – if they want to make the actual CFP. Thankfully, they don’t have to worry about that in my model. They’re still far and away the best team in the conference.

5. Oklahoma Sooners (Big 12 Champion) – The Sooners get back to this spot after the Texas Longhorns went down at the hands of Oklahoma State. I still say there’s a chance that West Virginia ends up atop the Big 12, but for the time being, the Sooners are rolling behind stud quarterback Kyler Murray and his dynamic play.

6. Washington State Cougars (Pac 12 Champion) – First of all, Mike Leach is a national treasure and must be protected at all cost. Second of all, quarterback Gardner Minshew is airing it out. The Cougars get the big upset win over Stanford and with Cal upsetting Washington, they find themselves in the driver’s seat of a relatively weak Pac-12.

7. LSU Tigers (Wild Card #2) – People keep doubting the Tigers, and they just keep winning. I say they’re one of the best four teams in the country, but they have the tall task of beating Alabama this weekend after both teams are coming off a bye week. We’ll see.

8. UCF Golden Knights (Group of Five Representative) – South Florida is out – but something surprising has happened with this ‘Group of Five’ spot. Don’t look now, but here comes Utah State. Jordan Love and the Aggies are lighting things up out west, and maybe….just maybe….they have the firepower to sneak up and steal this spot should UCF stumble.

So, that gives us…

(8) UCF at (1) Alabama
(5) Oklahoma at (4) Clemson
(7) LSU at (2) Notre Dame
(6) Washington State at (3) Michigan

Real Talk

Lets put politics aside and just take the four best teams in college football. Who would those four teams be? I’d say:

1. Alabama
2. Notre Dame
3. LSU
4. Michigan

The first CFP rankings of the season come out tonight, and as I’ve been saying for two weeks now, since I thought the CFP rankings came out two weeks ago for some reason, I wouldn’t be shocked to see something zany. They always try to grab ratings for that first show – what if they have UCF in the top four? That would break the internet.

Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Alabama Crimson Tide football, the WWE, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley

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