A thumbnail look at the 20 contenders for the CFP

[SelectionSunday]

These are all the Power 5 schools with 0 or 1 loss. Even though it has no shot at the CFP, I've also included Marshall because the Thundering Herd are undefeated. For now we're excluding all teams with 2 losses.

Because we're 8 weeks through the season, am using 5 wins (by an opponent) as the current benchmark. Next week that benchmark will bump up to 6. Keep in mind, last year at this time Michigan State was unranked in both polls and ended up #3 in the country. After the first CFP Poll is announced next week, there'll still be time for teams like the Gophers to make a steady climb up the polls.

Alabama (6-1, 3-1) – only loss @ Ole Miss
1. vs. West Virginia (5-2)
2. Texas A&M (5-3)

Arizona (5-1, 2-1) – only loss at home to USC
1. @ Oregon (6-1)

Arizona State (5-1, 3-1) – only loss at home to UCLA
1. @ USC (5-2)

Auburn (5-1, 2-1) – only loss @ Mississippi State
1. @ Kansas State (5-1)
2. 2. LSU (6-2)

Baylor (6-1, 3-1) – only loss @ West Virginia
1. TCU (5-1)

Duke (6-1, 2-1) – only loss @ Miami-Florida
1. @ Georgia Tech (5-2)

Florida State (7-0, 4-0)
1. Notre Dame (6-1)
2. Clemson (5-2)
3. vs. Oklahoma State (5-2)

Georgia (6-1, 4-1) – only loss @ South Carolina
1. Clemson (5-2)
2. @ Missouri (5-2)

Kansas State (5-1, 3-0) – only loss at home to Auburn
1. @ Oklahoma (5-2)
2. **Stephen F. Austin (5-2)

Marshall (7-0, 3-0)
1. Middle Tennessee State (5-3)

Michigan State (6-1, 3-0) – only loss @ Oregon
1. Nebraska (6-1)
2. **Jacksonville State (5-1)

Minnesota (6-1, 3-0) – only loss @ TCU
1. Middle Tennessee State (5-3)

Mississippi State (6-0, 3-0)
1. Auburn (5-1)
2. @ LSU (6-2)
3. Texas A&M (5-3)

Nebraska (6-1, 2-1) – only loss @ Michigan State
none

Notre Dame (6-1) – only loss @ Florida State
None

Ohio State (5-1, 2-0) – only loss at home to Virginia Tech
1. @ Maryland (5-2)
2. Rutgers (5-2)

Ole Miss (7-0, 4-0)
1. Alabama (6-1)
2. vs. Boise State (5-2)
3. @ Texas A&M (5-3)

Oregon (6-1, 3-1) – only loss at home to Arizona
1. Michigan State (6-1)
2. @ UCLA (5-2)
3. Washington (5-2)

TCU (5-1, 2-1) – only loss @ Baylor
1. Minnesota (6-1)
2. Oklahoma (5-2)
3. Oklahoma State (5-2)

Utah (5-1, 2-1) – only loss at home to Washington State
1. @ UCLA (5-2)

 

[AEmerson40]

Thanks for doing this! It's nice to have all of this laid out in one place. Just two suggestions: 1) possibly think about including two-loss teams with impressive SOS and close losses; there might be one that slips in by the end of the year, especially from the SEC West or Pac-12 South and 2) maybe include teams that are obviously solid in the "good win" category but might not have the requisite number of wins. For example, Stanford (4-3) is a much more impressive victory for Notre Dame than Middle Tennessee St. is for MN. That being said, thank you again!

 

[SelectionSunday]

Thanks. For simplicity will exclude the 2-loss teams 'til later in the season.

 

[GopherinPhilly]

Really shows how soft the Gopher schedule has been so far. We still don't know who this team really is IMO.

 

[BarnBoy]

I look forward to visiting the 8 National Championships message board next Spring.