College Football Eliminator 2016-17: Week 7
Fourteen teams remain in playoff contention.
Four are in, four are just outside looking in, and six are in the hunt for the title. The 'On the Fence' category has been killed off. You're either in the mix or you're out of the mix. By default, the first and only three teams with one loss to be thrown back into the hunt are Florida, Louisville, and Utah. Everyone else left in the playoff race is undefeated. We have only been going for seven weeks and have eliminated 114 teams. It feels like teams are still being eliminated too quickly, with only ten teams left to eliminate in a six-week period, but it could also mean that the playoff picture is forming right before our eyes. The Alabama-Texas A&M winner, the Ohio State-Michigan winner, Clemson, and Washington have the straightest shots at the playoff. Everyone else basically needs these teams to lose a game to be in consideration. See if your team was one of the seven teams eliminated this week.
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The Four Playoff Teams
Clemson had to ice the NC State kicker (who ended up missing three field goal tries on the day) on a 33-yard attempt that would have been the game-winner for the Wolfpack in Death Valley. Dabo Swinney could be God, but I have no way of knowing. Clemson got a touchdown on the first drive in overtime, while ol' NC State threw a pick on the first and only play of the Wolfpack's overtime possession. Ohio State cut it close too, having to come from behind and steal one from Wisconsin in overtime. Nonetheless, a win is a win, especially when it comes over the eighth-ranked team in the country on the road. Michigan sat out from the madness this week with a bye and Alabama made it clear that they are the number one team in the country with a dominating win over Tennessee. The top four remains the same: #1 Alabama, #3 Michigan, #2 Ohio State, and #4 Clemson.
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Outside Looking In
Washington stays put with their bye. Texas A&M prepares for Alabama, which could be a play-in game with the winner having a really good chance at the playoff. No doubt in my mind College Gameday will be in Tuscaloosa this week. Nebraska's win over Indiana wasn't pretty, but Wisconsin lost and the Cornhuskers could definitely get to the Big Ten Championship with an unblemished record. Boise State almost let Colorado State come back and win, so I'll slide them back into the hunt to make room for Baylor. The Bears ran away with a 49-7 win over Kansas and no one expected anything less. #6 Texas A&M, #5 Washington, #8 Nebraska, and #9 Baylor are the first four out.
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In the Hunt
#14 Boise State - Too close for comfort, Broncos. After a great third quarter, sitting down on defense isn't the ideal thing to do. A trip to BYU on Thursday will prove if Boise still has any magic left from last year.
#15 Florida - The Gators now lead the SEC East after the 'Missouri Massacre' and Alabama's quick work of Tennessee. They control their own destiny from here on out. Winning out would surely mean playoff, but they have to get through Arkansas, LSU, Florida State, and the winner of Alabama-Texas A&M.
#7 Louisville - Yeah, it was a win, but that was too damn close. The final score might not have shown what was going in the fourth quarter Friday night so I'll give you the scenario: Louisville misses a field goal that would have given the ball back to the Blue Devils with good field position and two minutes left on the clock down by a field goal, 14-17. A roughing the kicker penalty was called, Louisville got the ball back and the game virtually ended when they punched it in to the end zone to take a two-score lead. The Cards should be the first one-loss team back in the hunt, but their ten-point home victory over Duke just did not impress. On a side note, congrats to Louisville for the 500th win in program history.
#19 Utah - The story of Joe Williams seems like it could be straight out of a movie: Senior running back quits because he is not at the level he wants to be at physically and mentally, quits the team and retires from football, only to come back after the team virtually calls him up in despair after the running back depth for the Utes collapses. Williams re-joined his teammates this week and put on a show against Oregon State in a 19-14 win, rushing for 179 yards on 34 carries and a touchdown. The end of the tale may have been different had Williams not come back to work. For now, the Utes stay alive. They continue their road trip, heading to the Rose Bowl to take on UCLA on Saturday.
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#20 Western Michigan - Will the committee be checking the score of these games? Because 41-zip (get it, zip? like Akron...never mind) seems like another pretty convincing win to me. You don't understand how bad I want to see Western Michigan get a shot at playoff glory.
#12 West Virginia - I can't tell if WVU is the real deal; Texas Tech isn't really the greatest defensive test. This Saturday, the Bumblebees...err, I mean the Mountaineers get to host TCU and show the college football world if they really mean business or not.
Eliminated
Arizona State - While everyone was sleeping, the Sun Devils decided to become the seventh and final eliminated team of the day by falling hard to Colorado for their second loss of the year, 40-16.
Maryland - Let's work on getting some points on the scoreboard, guys! I seriously did not realize the softness of the Terrapins' schedule throughout the first four games. We could have been done talking about this if Maryland would have just lost to UCF, but they pulled it out in double overtime. I would not be surprised if Maryland has to fight for bowl eligibilty, which would mean winning two of their next six games. Rutgers and Indiana are their lightest opponents left on the schedule, and it's doubtful that Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State, and Nebraska will be winning battles, so 6-6 may even be a tough task for the Terps.
Miami - Two straight losses for the team that was supposed to be in the mix for the playoff is now out. The 'Canes lost to North Carolina by a touchdown just a week after losing to Florida State where a blocked extra-point was the difference. Brad Kaaya is not happy and I don't blame him.
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Tennessee - Rocky Top, you'll always be *sniff* home sweet home to me. Good ol' Rocky Top, *sniff sniff* Rocky Top, Tennessee. Rocky Top, Tennessee. *sobbing uncontrollably*
Virginia Tech - Ha ha ha, Syracuse stormed the field. Cute. Seriously, the Hokies seem to be flat-lining. I thought
Wake Forest - You can't win football games if you don't score touchdowns and Doak Campbell Stadium is not an easy place to score touchdowns. One more win for bowl eligibility for the Demon Deacons though, and as of right now, I'd say the Belk Bowl is in the cards for Wake.
Wisconsin - The Badgers put up a good fight against one of the best teams in the country in Ohio State, taking them to overtime, but 2 games behind in the Big Ten West race means no chance at the playoff.
Eliminated in Week 6
Air Force, Arkansas, Colorado, Houston, Indiana, Minnesota, North Carolina, Stanford, Texas Tech
Eliminated in Week 5
Florida State, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kansas State, Memphis, Michigan State, Navy, San Diego State, TCU, Texas, Toledo
Eliminated in Week 4
Arizona, Army, Central Michigan, Georgia Southern, LSU, Oregon, Penn State, Pittsburgh, South Carolina, South Florida, UCLA
Eliminated in Week 3
Auburn, Cincinnati, Colorado State, Duke, East Carolina, Illinois, Iowa, Marshall, Missouri, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Southern Miss
Eliminated in Week 2
Akron, Ball State, BYU, California, Connecticut, Eastern Michigan, Florida Atlantic, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana-Monroe, Middle Tennessee, NC State, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma State, Old Dominion, Purdue, SMU, South Alabama, Syracuse, Texas Tech, Troy, Tulsa, UCF, UNLV, Utah State, UTEP, UTSA, Western Kentucky, Wyoming
Eliminated in Week 1
Appalachian State, Boston College, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Charlotte, FIU, Fresno State, Georgia State, Hawaii, Iowa State, Kent State, Kentucky, Louisiana Tech, Louisiana-Lafayette, Massachusetts, Miami (OH), Mississippi State, New Mexico State, North Texas, Northern Illinois, Northwestern, Ohio, Oregon State, Rice, Rutgers, San Jose State, Southern California, Temple, Tulane, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Washington State
Check back in next Wednesday (or on another day, who knows really?) to find out if your team has been eliminated in 'College Football Eliminator 2016-17: Week 8'.
