By Zach Waltz
Sports Editor
With four weeks gone in the NCAA Division I football season, there are some clear front runners to make a run at the recently-established playoff system.
This season, the NCAA has implemented a new playoff system in which four teams will be selected into a playoff for the National Championship.
This differs from the previous system in which a championship game was selected by the bowl committee. By putting in this new system, more teams will have a shot at the National Championship while also maintaining the integrity of the regular season so that every game counts.
So far this season, the pre-season favorite Florida State Seminoles have lived up to the hype with Heisman- winning quarterback Jameis Winston. The team has started 3-0 with wins against Oklahoma State, Citadel and Clemson.
Their hardest games of the season will come against Notre Dame, Miami (Fla.) and Florida. With the rest of their games looking relatively easy to win, the ‘Noles look like they could go undefeated this season, paving their way into the playoffs.
The Oregon Ducks have also distinguished themselves as favorites to get into the playoffs. With a 4-0 record, the team has already had a huge win over Michigan State this season. However, the Ducks have one of the harder schedules this year with big matchups coming against Arizona, UCLA, Standford and Oregon State. If Oregon is able to come away this season undefeated, they will definitely have a spot in the playoffs.
Perennial favorites Alabama, Oklahoma and Auburn are all capable of making their way into the playoffs this season. However, with the new system, the committee will have to be extremely selective, making it hard for one-loss teams to get into the tournament.
Therefore, teams like Michigan State, Georgia, South Carolina, Stanford, LSU, USC and Ohio State will have a hard time finding their way into the playoffs after already having a loss. However, it’s always possible that there are no undefeated teams, so schools like Michigan State with quality losses will have a better chance of getting in.
With Penn State getting their bowl ban lifted, they could potentially get into the playoffs. However, they will have to get through Big Ten rivals Michigan, Ohio State and Michigan State in order to do so. Likewise, Notre Dame has looked solid through their first games, but they have matchups against Stanford, Florida State and USC this season that could propose a challenge to them receiving a playoff bid.
As it stands now, there are many teams that are still undefeated. Once the season progresses, it will be easier to tell which teams will separate from the rest. Most teams have somewhat difficult schedules to get through, and it is entirely possible that no team goes undefeated this year. Regardless, it will be interesting to see how teams play out their seasons in order to make the playoffs. The NCAA set up this playoff system so that all regular season games are important, which leads me to believe that this season of college football will be one of the most interesting in recent memory. Ultimately, this is the beginning of a great era in college football, making this year a milestone year.
waltzzd12@bonaventure.edu
