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Ole Miss dominates Texas A&M, moves to top of playoff projec

Posted: Sun Oct 12, 2014 4:58 pm
by rebeljim
The big debate this week seems to be which Mississippi school should sit atop the polls when they come out on Sunday. Personally, I'd vote for Mississippi State because i think they have accomplished a little more so far.

That has nothing to do with bowl and playoff projections though. Those are based on what I expect at the end of the year. Ole Miss dominated at Texas A&M, and now figures to be favored every time out the rest of the way. That's because the Rebels have the good fortune of playing Auburn and Mississippi State at home. The Bulldogs also have to travel to Alabama.

Ole Miss had to be considered the league favorite now, and that's good enough to merit the No. 1 seed in the current playoff projection. Florida State drops to No. 2, while Alabama remains in the projection at No. 3. The Tide struggled again this week, but they still get both MSU and Auburn at home, so until they lose again, they will stay in this projection. I think the committee would view an 11-1 SEC West team as a very strong playoff contender.

Michigan State gets the fourth spot, despite a lackluster performance at Purdue. Oklahoma drops out for now. Note that if Oregon is able to run the table, the Ducks would surely slot ahead of the Spartans due to the head-to-head result.

Mississippi State did push Auburn out of the Orange Bowl projection though. That spot goes to the highest rated non-champion from the Big Ten, SEC or Notre Dame. The Tigers are now projected for the Capital One Bowl.

TCU also moved into the CFP bowl projection, despite the loss to Baylor. They replace Arizona, which also lost. The Wildcats fell at home to USC and have a tough schedule remaining. The Horned Frogs will get to play their most challenging opponents left at home.

Now that we are six games into the season, teams can actually clinch bowl eligibility, and some have. Baylor, Florida State, Marshall, Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Notre Dame are the first to assure themselves of a spot in the postseason. You can track all that on the bowl eligibility page.

On the other end of that, week seven will give one team a chance to eliminate themselves from bowl contention. Kent State will play Army looking to avoid falling to 0-7 and locking themselves out of the postseason.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootbal ... projection