/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/43445398/20141101_jla_sg8_452.jpg.0.jpg)
The second College Football Playoff Top-25 rankings were released Tuesday, and the rankings still carry an SEC flavor with six teams in the top-25 with No. 1 Mississippi State, Auburn (3) and Alabama (5) leading the way.
Given that Ole Miss (11) still stands just outside the top-10 with two losses shows that SEC teams are carrying quite a bit of respect with the committee, and it adds to the idea that two SEC teams can make the playoff. Of course, the Oregon Ducks look as if they will make the playoff if they win out, and with Florida State also being in the same boat, there just may not be enough room for two SEC schools unless one of these conference frontrunners fail to win out. Even if these teams falter, teams such as TCU, Kansas State and Arizona State are close enough to make an attack at the top-four as potential one loss conference champions.
As far as the SEC goes, either Auburn or Alabama are assured of having at least two losses, and with the Crimson Tide playing LSU and Mississippi State the next two weeks, there is opportunity for the Tide to pick up a second loss before the Iron Bowl.
For the SEC, the nightmare scenario would be LSU defeating Alabama this weekend, the Crimson Tide knocking off Mississippi State next weekend, and then the Tide knocking off Auburn in the Iron Bowl with Mississippi State knocking off Ole Miss and then losing in the SEC Championship game. In that case, it would be unlikely, without some other teams dropping games as well, that the SEC would put anyone into the playoff, and if they did get a spot, it would just be one team.
If these projections went into effect today, the Bulldogs would meet up with the Oregon Ducks in (presumably) the Sugar Bowl, and Florida State and Auburn would square off in (again, presumably) the Rose Bowl.
Rank | Team | Last week | Week 10 result | Toughest opponent left (per F/+) | If the season ended today ... |
1 | Mississippi State (8-0) | 1 | Won 17-10 vs. Arkansas | Ole Miss | Sugar Bowl vs. Oregon |
2 | Florida State (8-0) | 2 | Won 42-31 at No. 25 Louisville | Miami | Rose Bowl vs. Auburn |
3 | Auburn (7-1) | 3 | Won 35-31 at No. 4 Ole Miss | Alabama | Rose Bowl vs. Florida State |
4 | Oregon (8-1) | 5 | Won 45-16 vs. Stanford | Utah | Sugar Bowl vs. Mississippi State |
5 | Alabama (7-1) | 6 | Idle | Auburn | Orange Bowl |
6 | TCU (7-1) | 7 | Won 31-30 at No. 20 WVU | Kansas State | New Year's bowl |
7 | Kansas State (7-1) | 9 | Won 48-14 vs. Oklahoma St. | TCU | New Year's bowl |
8 | Michigan State (7-1) | 8 | Idle | Ohio State | New Year's bowl |
9 | Arizona State (7-1) | 14 | Won 19-16 vs. No. 17 Utah | Notre Dame | New Year's bowl |
10 | Notre Dame (7-1) | 10 | Won 49-39 at Navy | Louisville | New Year's bowl |
11 | Ole Miss (7-2) | 4 | Lost 35-31 vs. No. 3 Auburn | Mississippi State | New Year's bowl |
12 | Baylor (7-1) | 13 | Won 60-14 vs. Kansas | Oklahoma | |
13 | Nebraska (8-1) | 15 | Won 35-14 vs. Purdue | Wisconsin | |
14 | Ohio State (7-1) | 16 | Won 55-14 vs. Illinois | Michigan State | |
15 | Oklahoma (6-2) | 18 | Won 59-14 at Iowa St. | Baylor | |
16 | LSU (7-2) | 19 | Idle | Alabama | |
17 | Utah (6-2) | 17 | Lost 19-16 at No. 14 Arizona St. | Oregon | |
18 | UCLA (7-2) | 22 | Won 17-7 vs. No. 12 Arizona | USC | |
19 | Arizona (6-2) | 12 | Lost 17-7 at No. 22 UCLA | Arizona State | |
20 | Georgia (6-2) | 11 | Lost 38-20 vs. Florida | Auburn | |
21 | Clemson (6-2) | 21 | Idle | Georgia Tech | Orange Bowl |
22 | Duke (7-1) | 24 | Won 51-48 at Pittsburgh | Virginia Tech | |
23 | West Virginia (6-3) | 20 | Lost 31-30 vs. No. 7 TCU | Kansas State | |
24 | Georgia Tech (7-2) | NR | Won 35-10 vs. Virginia | Clemson | |
25 | Wisconsin (6-2) | NR | Won 37-0 at Rutgers | Nebraska |