The OutKick Elite 12 Goes To Shuffle Mode After A Spectacular Saturday Of Football
So, you think last weekend was chaotic in college football? After seeing what transpired at LSU, Oregon, USC and even Tennessee, Saturday delivered one of the best Saturdays in recent memory from start to finish.
The game of the day was hard to pick, but the Oregon versus Ohio State showdown in Eugene was tremendous. A back-and-forth battle in the Big Ten, it was the Ducks who prevailed at the end, thanks in large part to quarterback Dillon Grabriel. As the clock was ticking down, and needing a FG to win, Buckeyes QB Will Howard slid to the ground as time expired, leading to pure madness inside Autzen Stadium
There was a playoff eliminator game in Baton Rouge, as LSU hung around long enough to seemingly end the chances of Ole Miss making the postseason.
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA - OCTOBER 12: Fans rush the field following a 29-23 win by the LSU Tigers over the Ole Miss Rebels at Tiger Stadium on October 12, 2024 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Derick E. Hingle/Getty Images)
This list could go on, as Alabama and Tennessee both had games they'd like to forget, even though they pulled-out the victories. Now, we're going to get another eliminator game on Saturday in Knoxville, as the Tide travels into hostile territory for a crucial matchup this weekend.
We saw what Texas did to Oklahoma on Saturday, but now the real test has finally arrived. In what should be a heavyweight fight, Georgia will travel to Texas for an SEC showdown built for the conference title game.
Oh, let's not forget Army and Navy, who are both undefeated and marching towards a conference title game, before playing the following week in their regular season finale. Yes, we have some chaos on the horizon, so keep an eye on this.
Alright, let's take a look at our expert pickers, who obviously had a very tough job at putting together the best twelve teams in college football this week.
Here is the list of pickers for each week's OutKick Top-12 Poll.
- Clay Travis
- Trey Wallace
- Chad Withrow
- Jonathan Hutton
- Dan Dakich
- Les Miles
- Brock Huard
- Lou Holtz
- Tommy Tuberville
- Jeannine Edwards
- Will Cain
- Ricky Cobb
- Kelly Stewart
OutKick College Football Playoff Top-12, Week Seven Rankings
We are now into the 5th week of the OutKick playoff rankings, and there are some interesting decisions being made by our voters after another wild weekend of football.
After looking at the rankings from last week, somehow the voters had Alabama moving up a spot to No. 7, coming off a win over South Carolina that came down to the final series for the Gamecocks. I'm not quite understanding the logic of the voters in this situation, as I had them at No. 9 this week, dropping two spots.
The OutKick College Football Playoff Top-12
In the same circumstance, how can Ohio State drop three spots to No. 9 behind the automatic qualifiers after losing to the 3rd ranked Oregon Ducks on the road? But, this is why we have a panel of voters who bring their own expertise to the poll each week, and not everyone is going to have the same opinion.
If the logic was that teams were going to fall after winning tight games at home against unranked teams, then I would've expected them to fall, like the calculations had with Tennessee, who is not in the OutKick Top-12 this week, after being ranked 11th last week. I think it's becoming pretty obvious that we're seeing a shift when it comes to the competition level in college football, and Vanderbilt is a perfect example of how some teams are playing, and the stigma that surrounds their name.
The OutKick College Football Playoff Top-12
As we get closer to the month of November, business is going to pickup in a major way, especially for the teams just on the outside looking in. Given that the final month of the regular season is filled with very tough matchups across the power-4 conferences, those teams ranked between 13-20 are obviously still in the race, but the question is do we at least get one team in with three losses.
How the College Football Playoff Would Look right Now. Voters Make Their Case
As we do every week, each voter has their top-12 published for you to have a look, and argue with if there is a disagreement.
In this week's edition, I have to wonder what Les Miles thinks about Oregon, to have them ranked 8th in his poll, behind LSU and Alabama. Coming off a win over Ohio State, he also has the Ducks not being the Big Ten automatic bid, but that honor goes to Penn State.
The OutKick College Football Playoff Top-12
I'm certainly on the Indiana hype train right now, even though I don't have them in my Top-12 at the moment, but Dan Dakich has held steady, putting them at No. 8 this week. The Hoosiers are on a path to a matchup with Ohio State next month, and the Big Ten is going to be a crapshoot down the stretch.
There seems to be some serious debating on who will be the final team to get into the playoff. The Army versus Navy collision course we're on right now is going to be fascinating to watch unfold, as they are both ranked in the AP Top-25 for the first time since 1960.
The chaos would come if both teams enter the AAC Championship game with undefeated records. Why is this chaotic, you might ask? Well, the conference title game is being played one week before their annual showdown to end the regular season. Yes, I know this is weird, but we could have one team win the AAC, then lose the next week in their rematch, which would force the playoff committee to make a very tough choice.
In our current projection, the SEC gets four teams in, while the Big Ten has three. The Big 12 has been entertaining this season so far, to say the least, and there might be just one team that gets into the playoffs. But this is where it gets interesting, especially with BYU, Iowa State, Kansas State all within striking distance. We know one team is getting in. But, could there be a second?
For the ACC, with Clemson and Miami battling for the automatic bid, it will be fascinating to see if both teams make the playoffs, as the current projections lay out.
Either way, we're headed towards a wild second-half of the college football season. Judging by some of these projections, I can only imagine how intense the discussions will get over the next 45 days.
Let me know what you think about this week's poll. Send me your thoughts to Trey.Wallace@OutKick.com and I'll include them in the upcoming mailbag.