Not all undefeated records are created equal
There are 11 undefeated teams left in the FBS -- eight in the Power 5 conferences and three in the American Athletic Conference. Not all undefeated records, though, are created equally. The 13 members of the College Football Playoff Selection Committee don't reveal their first ranking until Oct. 30, but their task then and for six straight weeks afterward is to sort through comparable résumés and determine what separates teams when their records don't.
Sort of like this ...
The following are rankings of the remaining undefeated teams, starting with who has the most realistic chance to reach the CFP and why.
Win and they're in
1. Alabama Crimson Tide (6-0)
Remaining strength of schedule: No. 27
Toughest remaining game: Nov. 3 at LSU
FPI says: Alabama is favored by at least 80 percent in each of its remaining games.
Playoff predictor says: Alabama could drop any one of its six remaining games and still have at least a 63 percent chance to reach the playoff.
The Tide are as close to a lock as you're going to get in mid-October, as Alabama appears to be in a class of its own with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. His QBR of 98.5 through six games is the highest of any quarterback in the 15 seasons that the metric has been tracked. And here's the most astounding part: He hasn't even taken a snap yet in a fourth quarter. Alabama's only weakness right now is its schedule. The nonconference strength of schedule currently ranks 127th in the FBS (but so was Washington's in 2016). Still, Alabama's sheer dominance coupled with its 55-point road win at Ole Miss and its victory over a ranked Texas A&M team should be enough to impress the committee.
Bottom line: The SEC champ is in, and Alabama proved last year it doesn't even need that to reach the semifinals. It would probably take two upsets to derail the Tide.
2. Ohio State Buckeyes (6-0)
Remaining SOS: No. 34
Toughest remaining game: Nov. 24 vs. Michigan
FPI says: Ohio State has at least a 71 percent chance to win each of its remaining games.
Playoff predictor says: Ohio State could drop any one of the six games remaining on its schedule and still have at least a 67 percent chance to reach the playoff.
The Big Ten champion has been left out of the playoff in each of the past two seasons, but Ohio State already is in a much better position. Instead of suffering a hangover after the Penn State win, Ohio State pulled it together the following week, this time holding off a pesky Indiana team. The Buckeyes still have one of the most impressive résumés because of their road win at Penn State and their neutral site win against TCU. They rank No. 1 in ESPN's strength of record metric, which gives the average Top 25 team just a 9 percent chance to go undefeated against the same schedule. Quarterback Dwayne Haskins has 25 touchdowns to just four interceptions. He's a big reason why the Buckeyes are fifth in offensive efficiency this season at 86.1, their best mark since finishing with an efficiency of 87.5 on their way to the title in 2014.
Bottom line: The toughest part of Ohio State's schedule is behind it, save for the regular-season finale against Michigan. The Buckeyes would still have a great shot even as a one-loss Big Ten champ, but it would then depend on how the other Power 5 champs and Notre Dame finish.
3. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (6-0)
Remaining SOS: No. 64
Toughest remaining game: Nov. 24 at USC
FPI says: Notre Dame has at least a 70 percent chance to win each of its six remaining games and a 38 percent chance to finish undefeated (second-clearest path to an undefeated regular season in the FBS, behind Clemson).
Playoff predictor says: If the Irish run the table, they would have a 95.9 percent chance to reach the playoff and a 13.1 percent chance to win it all. If Notre Dame loses to USC, its chances would drop to 59.5 percent.
The Irish have the résumé and are passing the eye test, thanks to the emergence of Ian Book at quarterback. Notre Dame was 70th in the FBS in offensive efficiency in its first three games and is 14th since Book became the starter. Coach Brian Kelly also has praised the maturity of the team and its ability to handle the attention that increases with each win.
Bottom line: It's highly unlikely an undefeated Notre Dame would be left out of the top four. If the Irish lose, it opens the door for debate, and they would have to hope that Stanford can rebound in the second half of the season and Michigan stays ranked and in the hunt for the Big Ten title.
4. Clemson Tigers (6-0)
Remaining SOS: No. 37
Toughest remaining game: Nov. 10 at Boston College
FPI says: Clemson has the best chance to finish 13-0 of any team in the FBS (46.5 percent according to FPI).
Playoff predictor says: If Clemson finishes the regular season undefeated, it has a 91.3 percent chance to make the playoff and a 24.3 percent chance to win it all.
The Tigers have three true road wins (at Texas A&M, at Georgia Tech and at Wake Forest) against teams currently .500 or better, which will impress the committee. So will Clemson's offense, as quarterback Trevor Lawrence completed 20 of 25 passes for 175 yards and three different players ran for at least 125 yards apiece on Saturday at Wake Forest. Clemson also is leading the country in defensive efficiency.
Bottom line: An undefeated ACC champ would be in. The question is whether Clemson can afford to lose a game, because the rest of the ACC isn't as strong as it was a year ago. The answer: Probably, as long as it's not on Oct. 20 against NC State. No loss would damage Clemson's playoff hopes more, because the Wolfpack would then have the only realistic shot in the Atlantic Division to finish 8-0 and would own the division tiebreaker against Clemson if they finished 7-1. If Clemson finishes 11-1 but doesn't reach the ACC title game after losing to NC State, its chances to reach the playoff drop to 37 percent (versus 76 percent if it goes 12-1 after losing to the Wolfpack).
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Long shots
4. Cincinnati Bearcats (6-0)
Remaining SOS: No. 80
Toughest remaining game: Nov. 17 at UCF
FPI says: Cincinnati has at least a 60 percent chance to win all of its remaining games, except at UCF (25 percent).
Playoff predictor says: If Cincinnati is an undefeated American champ, it has a 0.0 percent chance to reach the playoff.
Bottom line: It's not going to happen. The Bearcats' strength of record is currently 17th, easily the lowest of the six teams that are currently 6-0.
Entire article:
http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/24934752/not-all-undefeated-records-created-equal
Just sayin': Luke and the Juggalos are putting together a pretty good year so far.