5 College Football Playoff Dominoes After a Wild, Upset-Filled Week 11

Earlier in the week, for the first time in a long time, the College Football Playoff selection committee went back to work.

The first CFP rankings of the year were revealed Tuesday night, which also marked the first time the 12-team postseason was truly put into motion. It was both exciting and somewhat odd to see this expanded postseason in action for the very first time.

Of course, as a reminder, the only ranking that matters is the final one.

Before we get there, there is more work to do. And after a weird, upset-filled Week 11, the next rankings will look much different.

Here’s the fallout of a massive Saturday that saw two Top Five teams fall, an unlikely playoff contender thrive and other hopeful contenders keep the journey going.

In many ways, it felt like a matter of time.

Miami dodged a slew of close calls this season, although it couldn’t wiggle out of another tough spot against Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets delivered the Hurricanes their first loss, winning 28-23 at home on Saturday.

The impact of this outcome is massive for many. For starters, Miami will no longer check in at the No. 4 spot in the College Football Playoff Rankings. (In fact, look for a sizable tumble.)

Perhaps even larger than that, however, the ACC is suddenly very much for grabs. With SMU surging—and now the only undefeated team in the conference—the ACC’s quest to send two teams to the postseason took a hit in Week 11.

The door is also now open for a team like Clemson, which suffered a disappointing loss just a week ago. Both teams have a path to the championship game, which means they could also have a path.

The Bulldogs have two regular-season losses in early November, which is not something we’ve seen in a long time. We’re also not used to seeing them getting pushed around at the line of scrimmage, but that’s precisely what happened on Saturday.

An ugly loss to Ole Miss in Oxford will certainly push last week’s No. 3-ranked team downward. The impact on Ole Miss and the rest of the SEC is enormous—more on that in a bit.

But the impact on Georgia directly is significant as well.

The good news is that the Bulldogs will likely be in the playoff if they don’t lose another game. The better news is that all three remaining games will be played at home.

Next week, Georgia takes on Tennessee, its toughest remaining regular-season game. From there, it’ll be Massachusetts and Georgia Tech to close things. All hope is not lost, but a mulligan certainly was this week.

As for Ole Miss, well, things look different now. The Rebels lost a handful of clunkers early in the season, although an 18-point win over the nation’s No. 3 team should serve this team well.

The Rebels checked in at No. 16 last week, although that should instantly change. And with games against Florida and Mississippi State on deck, this team is very much in a favorable spot.

This game was that important.

It wasn’t pretty or easy, but Indiana moved to 10-0 for the first time in program history.

Sure, the Hoosiers failed to cover the robust spread against a Michigan that is out of sorts. But the fact that we’re entering the middle of November and we’re able to critique unbeaten Indiana for not beating Michigan by more is frankly wild.

After a bye, the Hoosiers will head to Ohio State to partake in perhaps the most important game in the program’s history. After that, regardless of the outcome, it will head home to take on Purdue. (That’ll be a win.)

The selection committee didn’t seem to love Indiana’s work this past week, ranking the Hoosiers at No. 8. A few losses in front of them could change that, but it’s noteworthy.

Would a one-loss Indiana make the postseason as an at-large team? It’s a question that we should start asking a lot louder now.

It was billed as an elimination game of sorts, and it’s hard to argue with the premise. It’s also hard to argue with such a definitive outcome.

With a spot in the playoff potentially on the line, Alabama throttled LSU 42-13 on the road thanks in large part to the legs of quarterback Jalen Milroe. With the win, the Crimson Tide will head into their final three-game stretch at 7-2. Those three games will come against Mercer, at Oklahoma and Auburn.

The committee put Alabama at No. 11 last week. This win could prompt small movement. It’ll certainly loom larger later on.

For LSU, it doesn’t get much uglier. It wasn’t just the loss. It’s how lopsided the loss was.

Now with three blemishes on the record, the Tigers close with Florida, Vanderbilt and Oklahoma. Even if this team wins out, it likely won’t matter. Barring the truly unforeseen, the race for a championship ended Saturday night.

As the Big 12 continues its thrilling and unpredictable season, the nation’s most polarizing team has quietly entered the conversation.

After beating Texas Tech 41-27 on Saturday, Colorado moved to 7-2. The play of quarterback Shedeur Sanders and wideout/cornerback Travis Hunter are big reasons.

Suddenly, the Buffaloes aren’t just vastly improved. They’re legit contenders to make the Big 12 Championship Game. As such, they’re also a threat to secure a playoff spot.

Colorado will close with Utah, travel to Kansas and finish at home against Oklahoma State. It is likely the Buffs will be favored in every game moving forward.

While the top contending teams have largely tumbled of late, that’s not the case here. Colorado is hitting its stride, and the dreams of a postseason run, as unreasonable as that might have sounded before the season started, are very much alive.