1 year ago

AP Top 25 Takeaways: Back door to the College Football Playoff is likely to be blocked this season

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! 4 Washington and Michael Penix Jr. used a bold fourth-and-1 play call and walkoff field goal to beat Washington State in the Apple Cup and stay unbeaten heading into the Pac-12 title game. A Tide team that needed a small miracle to beat an Auburn squad that just a week ago was pounded at home by New Mexico State didn’t look like a serious threat to derail two-time defending champion Georgia in Atlanta next Saturday. Ohio State was one of two teams that didn’t win its league to make the playoff last year along with TCU, which lost the Big 12 title game after a perfect regular season. Michigan State made its move Saturday by luring Jonathan Smith away from Oregon State, a tough blow for a school with an uncertain future when it comes to conference affiliation.. Don’t be surprised if most teams with openings act fast and don’t wait for coaches involved in conference championship games.

Georgia Football Title Texas College Michigan Oregon Washington Heisman State Season Way Sec Beat Conference Tide Huskies Playoff Ducks Daniels This Season Ohio State Cfp Straight Penix Championship Game championship game season way ap title conference likely beat football blocked takeaways college state playoff 25 door straight

History of this topic

1 day, 2 hours ago

College playoffs looks for good matchups after snoozy first round of blowouts

Associated Press

For those who dozed through it, or flipped to more compelling fare in the NFL, here’s a brief recap of the rollout of the much-anticipated College Football Playoff. One part that did feel like a success was that the stands were full in all four stadiums — at Texas, Notre Dame, Penn State and Ohio State. “I think college football …

College Football Playoff quarterfinals first look: Oregon-Ohio State has national title vibes

Trending News

1 day, 18 hours ago

College Football Playoff quarterfinals first look: Oregon-Ohio State has national title vibes

New York Times

The second round of the first 12-team College Football Playoff will be a combination of turn-back-the-clock traditional bowl games and odd matchups in strange sites. But the best offenses Penn State faced this season — USC, Ohio State, Oregon — all ran for at least 170 yards and 4.2 yards per carry against the Nittany Lions, who are active up …

4 days, 2 hours ago

12-team college football playoff arrives after 100 years, a few billion dollars and many detours

Associated Press

It took more than 100 years, a few billion dollars and the cold, hard realization that you can’t fight progress forever. The first 12-team College Football Playoff kicks off Friday and Saturday with four first-round games on campuses steeped in gridiron tradition: Texas, Penn State, Notre Dame and Ohio State. A deal struck decades ago as part of the NFL’s …

4 days, 22 hours ago

College Football Playoff picks: SMU, Clemson, Vols, Hoosiers beware as CFP opens on campus

Associated Press

Welcome to the new-look postseason, where the path to the national championship begins at campus sites for eight of the 12 teams in the College Football Playoff. Snow showers are forecast to give way to cloudy skies and temperatures in the 20s in South Bend, Indiana, for Friday night’s Indiana-Notre Dame game. A 10- to 15-mph northwest wind will make …

1 week, 3 days ago

Expanded College Football Playoff field draws more bets and on more teams

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! “They don’t want to be standing there and not have a ticket on some of these long-shot teams.” Expanding the playoff field from four to 12 teams this year meant more betting in general on college football and more varieties of wagering on the postseason. “We’re …

1 week, 6 days ago

College Football Playoff bracket: CFP committee picked SMU over Alabama—for good reason.

Slate

SMU is in the College Football Playoff. The selection committee finally biffed out, making the outrageous decision to exclude undefeated Atlantic Coast Conference champion Florida State in favor of a one-loss Alabama team that had won the vaunted Southeastern Conference. Rather than selecting four teams, the committee was picking 12 for the first year of the college game’s expanded playoff. …

2 weeks, 1 day ago

Alabama left out of playoff as committee rewards SMU’s wins over Crimson Tide’s strong schedule

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! The College Football Playoff committee took SMU’s wins over Alabama’s strength of schedule, picking the Mustangs for the final at-large spot Sunday after a furious public debate and days of lobbying and arguing over which teams should make the 12-team field. “We had an extremely challenging …

2 weeks, 1 day ago

College Football Playoff bracket revealed: Oregon No. 1 overall, SMU gets in over Alabama

New York Times

Follow live updates and reaction to the 12-team College Football Playoff field. The first 12-team College Football Playoff will include SMU but not Alabama. The Crimson Tide were the first team out of the field when the selection committee released its final ranking Sunday, setting the bracket for the first expansive, pro-style playoff in the history of major college football: …

2 weeks, 1 day ago

2024 College Football Playoff guide: What to know about the new 12-team format, at-large bids

New York Times

College football entered a new era Sunday with the unveiling of the first 12-team Playoff bracket. For most of its century-plus existence, college football had a “mythical national champion.” The sport’s season champion was determined after teams played in bowl games by various polls and rankings, which, of course, led to significant debate. The four quarterfinal games and both semifinals …

College Football Playoff takeaways: Clemson kickstarts SMU-Alabama debate for final spot

Trending News

2 weeks, 1 day ago

College Football Playoff takeaways: Clemson kickstarts SMU-Alabama debate for final spot

New York Times

By Ralph D. Russo, Matt Baker, Justin Williams, Joe Rexrode and Sam Khan Jr. The first 12-team College Football Playoff field will be revealed on Sunday, but a lot was still to be determined by Saturday’s Power 4 conference championship games after Boise State locked up the first automatic bid on Friday. pic.twitter.com/GmNL2hnoO0 — ACC Network December 8, 2024 It’s …

2 weeks, 1 day ago

5 takeaways from the unveiling of the 12-team College Football Playoff field

CNN

CNN — The field is set, the games are scheduled, and college football fans have an absolutely scrumptious holiday buffet of playoff games set out in front of them. Oregon offensive lineman Iapani Laloulu celebrates after the Big Ten championship NCAA college football game against Penn State, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024, in Indianapolis. Darron Cummings/AP The top four seeds are …

2 weeks, 1 day ago

Who will make the College Football Playoff field after a wild championship weekend?

New York Times

Until Saturday Newsletter 🏈 | This is The Athletic’s college football newsletter. Let’s review the results from conference championship weekend when Timothee Chalamet made his case to be the next big college football analyst. Still, Penn State hung around with the nation’s last remaining undefeated team and looked every bit deserving of challenging for the conference crown. Arizona State was …

2 weeks, 5 days ago

College football picks: 'Let's play two' a theme for handful of conference championship games

Hindustan Times

No football coach would tell you he's excited about the prospect of having to beat the same team twice in the same season. The FBS rematches: Western Kentucky at Jacksonville State in the Sun Belt, UNLV at Boise State in the Mountain West, Ohio vs. Miami in Detroit in the Mid-American and Georgia vs. Texas in Atlanta in the Southeastern …

2 weeks, 5 days ago

College football picks: ‘Let’s play two’ a theme for handful of conference championship games

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! The FBS rematches: Western Kentucky at Jacksonville State in the Sun Belt, UNLV at Boise State in the Mountain West, Ohio vs. Miami in Detroit in the Mid-American and Georgia vs. Texas in Atlanta in the Southeastern Conference. “You can’t hang or your hat on the …

2 weeks, 6 days ago

Miami’s playoff hopes nosedive as Alabama rises in the latest College Football Playoff rankings

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! Miami’s playoff hopes took an all-but-final nosedive while Alabama’s got a boost Tuesday night in the last rankings before the 12-team College Football Playoff bracket is set next weekend. To make things worse for the ’Canes, selection committee chair and Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said …

2 weeks, 6 days ago

Ohio State and Miami tumble in College Football Playoff penultimate rankings

CNN

CNN — Buckeye and Hurricane fans must have known this moment was coming as the College Football Playoff comes into focus ahead of conference championship week. After suffering shocking upsets to unranked opponents on Saturday, Ohio State and Miami dropped in the penultimate CFP rankings, which were revealed Tuesday. After winning their first five ACC games, Miami lost two of …

2 weeks, 6 days ago

What the College Football Playoff rankings say about Ohio State after its loss to Michigan

New York Times

The final College Football Playoff rankings will be revealed on Sunday, but Tuesday night’s penultimate Top 25 gave us an idea of what Ohio State’s fate will be. Tuesday was close to the best-case scenario for Ohio State Eight teams are a lock for the Playoff: Oregon, Texas, Penn State, Notre Dame, Georgia, Ohio State, Tennessee and Indiana. It could …

2 weeks, 6 days ago

College Football Playoff rankings: Miami out, Alabama in with last at-large bid as ACC implications linger

New York Times

Alabama moved into position to receive an at-large bid to the College Football Playoff and Miami was locked out of contention as the selection committee’s penultimate rankings Tuesday night narrowed the field of contenders. ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips said the conference was “incredibly shocked and disappointed” by Miami’s fall after the Hurricanes lost this past weekend, 42-38, at No. 16 …

3 weeks ago

College Football Playoff Bubble Watch: What will committee do with Alabama and Miami?

New York Times

The College Football Playoff field is mostly set. The bubble isn’t very big, but the central debate heading into the conference championship games seems clear: Will the committee elect to place three-loss Alabama into the field ahead of two-loss Miami — or even SMU if the Mustangs lose the ACC title game against Clemson? They could lose 59-0, like 2014 …

3 weeks, 1 day ago

No. 17 Iowa St beats Wildcats 29-21 for first 10-win season, moves to cusp of Big 12 title game

Live Mint

AMES, Iowa — Rocco Becht threw for two touchdowns and ran for another and No. 17 Iowa State's defense came up with big stops in the second half to help the Cyclones beat Kansas State 29-21 on Saturday night for the first 10-win season in program history. Really excited for them and what they’ve accomplished, and certainly for what the …

Trending News

3 weeks, 1 day ago

No. 17 Iowa St beats Wildcats 29-21 for first 10-win season, moves to cusp of Big 12 title game

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! 17 Iowa State’s defense came up with big stops in the second half to help the Cyclones beat Kansas State 29-21 on Saturday night for the first 10-win season in program history. Iowa State needed BYU to beat Houston on Saturday night to secure a spot …

3 weeks, 3 days ago

CFP rankings: Georgia, Texas, and College Football Playoff madness in Week 14.

Slate

At the onset of fall, it was clear that the growth of the College Football Playoff from four teams to 12 would make this season unlike any other. Ole Miss is likely out of the playoff race because it plays miserable Mississippi State this week, and beating a team that goes winless in SEC play should not help the Rebels …

3 weeks, 4 days ago

No. 5 Notre Dame visits USC with Playoff berth in sight before 95th edition of this famous rivalry

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! But because of how good this team is in relation to its record.” This annual long-distance showdown originally became momentous back when every game wasn’t on television, back when teams didn’t habitually traverse the continent to play college football — and also back when USC didn’t …

No. 10 Indiana tries to rebound from 1st loss and take shot at Big Ten title game by beating Purdue

Trending News

3 weeks, 5 days ago

No. 10 Indiana tries to rebound from 1st loss and take shot at Big Ten title game by beating Purdue

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! A win would likely secure a spot in the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff and could send them to the Big Ten title game — if No. The Boilermakers have struggled to find balance all season and could have problems against Indiana’s physical defense — especially …

3 weeks, 5 days ago

No. 17 Iowa State tries to keep focus on Kansas State, not the many Big 12 title game scenarios

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! 17 Iowa State goes into its home game against Kansas State on Saturday night as one of the Big 12 teams with the highest probability of making it to the conference championship game next week. Cyclones coach Matt Campbell said his team just needs to worry …

3 weeks, 5 days ago

Final week shows expanded Southeastern Conference just means more chaos

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! NASHVILLE, Tenn. — One thing is sure as the newly expanded Southeastern Conference wraps up its regular season: Two new teams has just meant more chaos in a league that seemingly had settled in formation behind Georgia and Alabama. Going bowling Auburn snapping a four-game skid …

No. 9 SMU looks for undefeated ACC slate in debut when finishing regular season against Cal

Trending News

3 weeks, 5 days ago

No. 9 SMU looks for undefeated ACC slate in debut when finishing regular season against Cal

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! SMU has already clinched a spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game in its league debut, and is up to ninth in the College Football Playoff rankings. Cal is also in its first ACC season, and is coming off a fourth-quarter comeback for a win …

3 weeks, 5 days ago

College football Week 14: Longhorns-Aggies among the high-stakes rivalry games to end regular season

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! It’s the final weekend of the college football regular season, which means rivalry games take center stage. With seven at-large bids for the first 12-team College Football Playoff up for grabs, not to mention spots in next week’s conference championship games, some of these games take …

3 weeks, 5 days ago

SEC losses are big gains for SMU and Indiana in latest College Football Playoff rankings

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! The Southeastern Conference’s losses were almost everyone else’s gain in the College Football Playoff rankings, with SMU nudging its way into the top 12 and Indiana staying in the mix at No. “They dropped five but we still felt their body of work was strong enough …

3 weeks, 5 days ago

Expanded Big Ten could put 4 teams in the playoff — thanks to Indiana’s unexpected rise

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! The expanded Big Ten is poised to be a major player in this season’s College Football Playoff. Oregon beat Ohio State 32-31 back in October, and if the Buckeyes beat rival Michigan this weekend, they’ll earn a rematch with the Ducks for the Big Ten title. …

4 weeks ago

AP Top 25: Alabama, Mississippi out of top 10 and Miami, SMU are in; Oregon remains unanimous No. 1

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! Alabama and Mississippi tumbled out of the top 10 of The Associated Press Top 25 poll Sunday and Miami and SMU moved in following a chaotic weekend in the SEC and across college football in general. The Buckeyes would play Oregon in the Big Ten championship …

4 weeks, 1 day ago

What we learned about the College Football Playoff: SEC upsets, Big 12 chaos, Indiana’s hopes

New York Times

The weekend before Thanksgiving often feels like the calm before the storm in college football. Interesting to read analysis from others as they examine “strength of schedule” in college football…it does seem there is a trend to be identified… pic.twitter.com/pXSfxRMxvL — Greg Sankey November 21, 2024 But at a certain point, it doesn’t seem like too much to ask these …

1 month ago

College football picks: Never mind Hoosiers, Ohio State has lots riding on showdown at the Horseshoe

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! Much has been made about the stakes for unbeaten Indiana in Saturday’s top-five showdown with Ohio State. Ohio State hasn’t won a Big Ten championship, let alone play in the title game, since 2020. With a one-point loss at Oregon on this season’s ledger, the Buckeyes …

1 month ago

What we learned about the CFP in Week 12: Georgia’s still alive, an SEC-Big Ten debate looms

New York Times

There are two weeks left in college football’s regular season, and there appear to be more teams hanging around College Football Playoff contention than falling out. Big 12 CFP and title odds Team CFP bid B1G title Record Oregon 99% 51% 11-0 Ohio State 99% 45% 9-1 Penn State 93% 1% 9-1 Indiana 89% 4% 10-0 Welcome, Sun Devils Arizona …

1 month, 1 week ago

Lots at stake for No. 14 SMU, the CFP hopeful and newcomer atop ACC hosting Boston College

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is back every week throughout the season! SMU is the only of the 17 ACC teams without a league loss, but last season’s American Athletic Conference champion dropped a spot to 14th in the second CFP rankings released this week. Boston College has changed starting quarterbacks going into its final road game and …

1 month, 1 week ago

Big Ten dominates latest College Football Playoff rankings

CNN

CNN — The Big Ten dominated the latest edition of the College Football Playoff rankings, with the conference claiming four of the top five slots in the new standings revealed Tuesday night. There is still much to be decided in the final weeks of the regular season, however, and when all the dust settles only the Big Ten champion will …

1 month, 1 week ago

College Football Playoff rankings: Georgia bumped out of bracket while Oregon, Ohio State hold steady at top

New York Times

Georgia plummeted from No. 12 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings Tuesday following a 28-10 loss to Ole Miss, its second loss of the season, while previously undefeated Miami dropped from No. “Their defense has been solid, though in their loss to Ole Miss, with their offense struggling, their defense was on the field quite a bit.” Oregon and …

1 month, 1 week ago

Ranking 134 college football teams after Week 11: Will shaky contenders feel an SEC squeeze?

New York Times

Editor’s note: The Athletic 134 is a weekly ranking of all FBS college football teams. The ACC and Big 12’s hopes of sending multiple teams to the first 12-team College Football Playoff took a big hit over the weekend. Meanwhile, Ole Miss’ win at Georgia brought more SEC teams into the Playoff mix rather than knocking one out with a …

1 month, 2 weeks ago

College football Week 11 odds, picks against the spread: Ole Miss-Georgia, Alabama-LSU and more

New York Times

The initial College Football Playoff rankings have been released, and several games on the Week 11 slate will significantly impact the eventual 12-team field. 16 Ole Miss 3:30 p.m. on Fubo, ABC The big change with the expanded playoff in college football isn’t that it cheapened the regular season. So it’s pretty simple — win on Saturday night to keep …

1 month, 2 weeks ago

First College Football Playoff Rankings Set for Reveal

Associated Press

The AP Top 25 college football poll is released each week throughout the season, and the first set of rankings will determine the 12 teams that will participate in the first round of the playoffs. Oregon, currently ranked number one, will be the top seed in the poll, while Miami, BYU, and Indiana are also undefeated and ranked in the …

1 month, 2 weeks ago

Predicting the first 12-team College Football Playoff selection committee rankings

New York Times

The first College Football Playoff rankings will be revealed Tuesday night, and once again I’ll be using my projections model to try to predict how the selection committee will rank the teams each week. Here’s what I expect Tuesday’s rankings to be: Next five: Missouri, South Carolina, UNLV, Arizona State, Tulane Biggest question: What to do with Notre Dame? There …

1 month, 2 weeks ago

Will the first College Football Playoff rankings of 12-team era favor Big Ten, SEC?

New York Times

Tuesday night’s College Football Playoff Top 25 rankings will surely be the most picked-apart first installment of a season since the CFP debuted in 2014. It’s also the committee’s first set of rankings in the new era of superconferences, where the SEC and Big Ten are trying to position themselves as superior to everyone else. “You can come from a …

1 month, 3 weeks ago

SMU's Unbeatable Streak Put to Test as No. 20 Panthers Aim to Knock Off Mustangs in ACC Showdown

Associated Press

SMU remains undefeated in the ACC, currently sitting at 7-1, and will face No. 18 Pittsburgh in a crucial matchup this Saturday night. The Mustangs' impressive performance this season has them poised to reach the 12-team College Football Playoff, but they will need to overcome challenges and maintain their physical prowess throughout the remaining games.

1 month, 4 weeks ago

Army and Navy are in the College Football Playoff race. Which means they could play twice

New York Times

The Army-Navy game occupies a special, yet peculiar position on the college football calendar. A loss could derail Navy’s shot at punching its ticket to the conference championship and thus crush the Mids’ Playoff hopes. There is a 29.6 percent chance that Army or Navy makes the Playoff, but the individual percentages for both teams depending on the results of …

Alabama and Missouri Battle for Playoff Survival

Trending News

1 month, 4 weeks ago

Alabama and Missouri Battle for Playoff Survival

Associated Press

Alabama and Missouri clash in an elimination game for playoff hopes. The Crimson Tide, ranked 15th, are looking to extend their season, while the Tigers, ranked 21st, fight for their playoff lives. Both teams have dangerous receivers and talented quarterbacks, but Alabama's defense is a force to be reckoned with, while Missouri's offense is a high-scoring threat. The outcome of …

2 months ago

How 30-plus College Football Playoff contenders and their conference races collide in the weeks ahead

New York Times

As November approaches, more and more programs’ College Football Playoff hopes are dropping like autumn leaves from the trees. Key games before first CFP rankings: BYU at UCF, Oct. 26; Cincinnati at Colorado, Oct. 26; Texas Tech at Iowa State, Nov. 2. A failed drive for a last-second field goal cost them at Oregon, but games against Penn State, Indiana …

2 months ago

What we learned about the College Football Playoff: Alabama out? Indiana in? Welcome to 2024

New York Times

1 team in the country went down. pic.twitter.com/fs9rsv7WK7 — Tennessee Football October 20, 2024 Coach Kalen DeBoer’s first Tide team has now lost two out of its last three since beating Georgia and rising to No. Coach Curt Cignetti’s crew overwhelmed Nebraska 56-7 to improve to 7-0 and have to be taken seriously in the Big Ten race as a …

2 months ago

Our experts’ midseason College Football Playoff, national championship and Heisman picks

New York Times

How much has the outlook for the college football season changed since the preseason? Ohio State is still on top of the national championship race in Austin Mock’s College Football Playoff projections model, winning the national title in 21 percent of our simulations. Team Votes Texas 11 Ohio State 9 Oregon 6 Georgia 4 Not only is Texas our most …

2 months ago

College football midseason bowl projections: How new CFP format impacts rest of bowl season

New York Times

The expanded College Football Playoff will give this sport something that previously was unrivaled by the other sport: a true Selection Sunday. Texas Clemson-Alabama winner 8:45 p.m. ESPN Orange Jan. 9 Miami, Fla. Quarterfinal winner Quarterfinal winner 7:30 p.m. ESPN Cotton Jan. 10 Arlington, Texas Quarterfinal winner Quarterfinal winner 7:30 p.m. ESPN Championship Jan. 20 Atlanta Semifinal winner Semifinal winner …

2 months, 1 week ago

College Football Playoff race at midseason: Miami, Indiana, Army and Navy are big risers

New York Times

You have to give credit to the new era of the College Football Playoff for giving us increased drama week in and week out. GO DEEPER College Football Playoff 2024 projections: Tennessee knocks Alabama out of bracket Stock up The Hurricanes aren’t a huge surprise to be in the Playoff race at the midseason point. According to my College Football …

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