College Football Playoff Bracket Prediction & Odds to Make the CFP – Week 11

The first College Football Playoff rankings from the selection committee finally arrive this week, and not a moment too soon.

The weekly reveals throughout November are unnecessary, accomplishing nothing but providing fodder for talking heads. The week-to-week changes do not matter, as has been very clear year after year.

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But the first set of rankings provides us a baseline, and there are two sets of persistent wonders, one among teams positioning to host a first-round game and one among teams scrapping for the final at-large spot.

College Football Playoff bracket prediction

• 5) Georgia vs. 12) Tulane

• 8) Mississippi vs. 9) Louisville

• 6) Texas Tech vs. 11) Vanderbilt

• 7) Oregon vs. 10) Notre Dame

• BYES: 1) Ohio State, 2) Alabama, 3) Texas A&M, 4) Indiana

CFP Bracket analysis

The top four here have become rather clear. Until one of Ohio State, Indiana, Alabama, and Texas A&M stumbles, it should be assumed that the winners of the Big Ten and SEC title games will have the top two Playoff seeds, while the losers will still have first-round byes.

Then it must be wondered who will host the first-round Playoff games on Dec. 19 and 20. Oregon, Texas Tech, Georgia, and Mississippi should have first claims on them, even if only the Red Raiders win their conference. Those four have one loss apiece, only Texas Tech’s loss an actual blemish, and all four should finish their regular seasons 11-1.

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The exact order of those four can be heavily debated. The committee’s initial rankings will shed light on that. Perhaps Oregon’s double overtime win at Penn State has not aged well enough to remain as high as No. 5, but the Ducks will end the season with more impressive wins than the Rebels, hence staying at No. 7.

To finish any projections, two questions remain.

1) Who is going to win the ACC?

2) Who deserves the final at-large spot?

Two ACC scenarios need to be pondered, both requiring a look at Georgia Tech’s and Louisville’s schedules. The shortest version of this is: The Cardinals play only one of the ACC’s four worst teams this season (Boston College, joined by North Carolina, Syracuse and Florida State). The Yellow Jackets play two. That difference likely will drop Georgia Tech in any tiebreaker scenario with Louisville.

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So if Virginia beats Duke in two weeks, then Louisville and Virginia should get a rematch in the ACC championship, with the Cardinals distinct favorites to exact revenge.

More likely, Duke will beat Virginia in two weeks to eventually create a four-way tie atop the ACC, with the Blue Devils joining the Cardinals in the ACC title game again in part because of relative ACC schedule strength.

All of which is to say, Louisville currently has the best path to the Playoff for the suddenly one-bid ACC.

Then there must be a debate about that final at-large spot. Notre Dame’s 10-game winning streak following two quality one-possession losses should assure the Irish a Playoff spot, as unlikely as that seemed in early September. But who fits in before probable American champion Tulane?

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Oklahoma suffering a third loss at Alabama and Texas suffering a third loss at Georgia, or against Texas A&M, will knock out the SEC’s expected candidates for a fifth Playoff contestant. If Cincinnati beats BYU the weekend before Thanksgiving, the Bearcats likely will end the Big 12’s hopes of being a two-bid league. And that should be the expectation in what may be quietly the biggest remaining game of the college football season.

Enter Vanderbilt. At 10-2, the Commodores should be ahead of 10-2 Cincinnati, so losing to Texas Tech in the Big 12 title game would not be what knocks the Bearcats out of the Playoff. And at 10-2, Vanderbilt would be able to claim wins against both Missouri and Tennessee, a strong enough résumé to warrant Playoff consideration.

That scenario will certainly put Diego Pavia into one more dramatic situation.

Latest odds to make the College Football Playoff

Odds as of 11-4.

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Important dates for the College Football Playoff

This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here