From morning late into Saturday night during Week 4, the playoff picture was constantly shifting as teams either played their way into the field or saw their postseason fortunes fall by the wayside. Some scored victories at the last second, like Iowa, that put a playoff bid on a pedestal as a real opportunity for the first time and others, like Texas A&M, Penn State and USC, entered a real danger zone in the eyes of the selection committee due to crushing losses.
With all that in mind, it’s time to examine just what the impact of all those results will be by entering The Eliminator—where we’re cutting teams and seeing which ones still have (an often mathematical) chance to play for the national title. Here’s where the field stands after Week 4.
College Football Playoff field after Week 4
Playoff locks
Zero teams (0% of the bracket)
Alive for a CFP bid
85 teams, 62% of FBS
- ACC (13)
- Big 12 (16)
- Big Ten (15)
- SEC (15)
- Independent (1)
- American (8)
- Conference USA (1)
- MAC (3)
- Mountain West (3)
- Pac-12 (5)
- Sun Belt (5)
Teams eliminated after Week 3
- Boston College
- Maryland
- Purdue
- South Carolina
- Navy
- Middle Tennessee
- UTEP
- San Diego State
- South Alabama
- Old Dominion
- Troy
Out of the playoff chase
53 teams, 38% of FBS
- ACC (4)
- Big 12 (0)
- Big Ten (3)
- SEC (1)
- Independent (1)
- American (6)
- Conference USA (9)
- MAC (10)
- Mountain West (7)
- Pac-12 (3)
- Sun Belt (9)
ACC
Alive: Cal, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Louisville, Miami, NC State, North Carolina, Pitt, SMU, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
Just four teams in the ACC remain undefeated after the weekend, and no power conference has seen more teams drop out of CFP consideration than this one. There’s a clear elite, national title contender in Miami, some intriguing sides who have designs on making it to Charlotte like Duke, Virginia Tech and Pitt, then a lot of mediocrity after that. As teams start picking up a second or third conference loss, the ACC ranks figure to thin even more.
Eliminated: Boston College
The Eagles played valiantly in the thick of a nor’easter against Virginia Tech but just couldn’t find a way to avoid taking on their second loss of the season. One of the lowest spending programs in the power conferences never really had designs on the playoff, but it would have been nice for Bill O’Brien to at least sell that kind of hope ahead of a tough four-game stretch that features three games against several other ACC contenders.
Out: Georgia Tech, Stanford, Syracuse
Big 12
Alive: Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, BYU, Cincinnati, Colorado, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech, UCF, Utah, West Virginia
It speaks to the parity in the Big 12 that the league is the last one standing with every team still technically alive for a playoff bid. Sure Kansas, TCU, Iowa State and Colorado are on the chopping block if they lose again, but there should be plenty of twists and turns ahead as teams try to make it to Arlington, Texas, for the conference title game and an automatic berth to the playoff field.
Eliminated: None
Out: None
Big Ten
Alive: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, USC, UCLA, Washington, Wisconsin
One wonders if Tony Pettiti gave any thought on Saturday to how a game like Oregon-USC would have had significantly less stakes attached to it in a 24-team playoff era than it currently does. Trojans fans feel morose about their prospects after losing that one, but that would not have been the case if Lincoln Riley had the safety net of extra bids to the postseason.
Eliminated: Maryland, Purdue
It was a rough weekend for the Terps and Boilermakers, who each were blown out and forced fans to ponder what lies ahead the rest of the season. Mike Locksley certainly will have an uphill battle to keep his job after getting trounced by UCLA and a new coaching staff, though Barry Odom can take solace that his in-state rival Notre Dame is at least a playoff-caliber team he won’t have to see again until next year.
Out: Rutgers
SEC
Alive: Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt
There are still enough opportunities to score quality wins that you can’t write off Texas A&M just yet from an at-large bid to the playoff, though the Aggies will have to play perfectly the rest of the season after getting trounced by LSU. It can’t be an easy time in College Station, Texas, right now either way, between the program’s struggles on the field to start the season and having to see rival Texas maintain its No. 1 ranking in the polls with wins like the one it pulled off at Tennessee.
Eliminated: South Carolina
After allowing nine points in their first two games, the Gamecocks have given up 90 in just two conference games. The ease in which Alabama scored on Saturday night had to keep Shane Beamer up almost as calls for his job did, which is something that happens in the SEC when you drop to 0–2 in the standings and out of CFP consideration.
Out: None
Independents
Alive: Notre Dame
The second quarter against Purdue might have been the best one the Fighting Irish have played all season and the type that shows just what the ceiling is for this team.
Eliminated: None
Out: UConn
American
Alive: Army, Florida Atlantic, Memphis, North Texas, South Florida, Tulane, Tulsa, UTSA
Don’t overlook UTSA as a strong contender in the Group of 6 chase, especially after a wild victory over Colorado State that saw a combined 104 points and more than a 1,000 yards of total offense. The Roadrunners played solidly on the road at Texas and a schedule that should present a path to the American title game based on what we’ve seen from them so far.
Eliminated: Navy
The preseason conference favorite is now 1–2 and facing some serious issues after losing to UAB on Friday night. Injuries on offense have played a role, but you expected a lot sharper play from the Midshipmen given how much production they returned from a very good team last year.
Out: Charlotte, East Carolina, Rice, Temple, UAB
Conference USA
Alive: Delaware
The game of the year in CUSA takes place on Friday as the Blue Hens host Liberty. It was a tough trip to Virginia in Week 4 for the program, but a victory over the Flames should be enough to put this group in pole position for the league.
Eliminated: Middle Tennessee State
Coach Derek Mason had some pointed words on the state of CUSA officiating after losing to Jacksonville State on Saturday to drop to 2–2. It’s nice to know he’s not going to hold his tongue on such matters, which will surely bring a fine from the league office at some point this week, but there are bigger issues to address for the Blue Raiders ahead as they sit at the bottom of the standings.
Out: Florida International, Jacksonville State, Kennesaw State, Liberty, Missouri State, New Mexico State, Sam Houston State, Western Kentucky
MAC
Alive: Toledo, UMass, Western Michigan
It was a big blow to the MAC’s Group of 6 chances to see Western Michigan look so uncompetitive against Boise State in Kalamazoo, Mich. The league will likely need the Pac-12 version of the Broncos to pick up a few losses to avoid a head-to-head comparison by the selection committee, but at least the football gods evened things out at the end of the game two hours to the east in the state. Don’t discount Toledo as a dark-horse contender to remain in the CFP periphery of the CFP discussion either after convincingly beating San Diego State on Saturday.
Eliminated: None
Out: Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Miami (Ohio), Ohio, Sacramento State
Mountain West
Alive: Air Force, New Mexico, North Dakota State
The Falcons won’t remain in this spot for much longer if they need double overtime to beat the likes of Nevada, but Troy Calhoun has been around long enough that he won’t apologize for a 2–1 start to the season. Meanwhile, it sure seems like the Lobos have two more games to warm up for the MWC game of the year when they host North Dakota State in late October.
Eliminated: UTEP
The Miners had a brutal first month of the season on paper and did nothing to change that opinion on the field after four games, seeing up close how improved Oregon State was in 2026 after getting torched by Braden Atkinson on Saturday. The good news is that they’ll be taking on teams much more on their level moving forward after they get past New Mexico in Week 5.
Out: Hawai‘i, Nevada, Northern Illinois, San José State, UNLV, Wyoming
Pac-12
Alive: Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Oregon State, Texas State
Boise State might as well have a stranglehold on the Group of 6 bid at this point following its victory over MAC favorite Western Michigan on Saturday in a game it controlled throughout. The Broncos should be favored by decent margins against the rest of the Pac-12 slate. The only question right now might be if they can climb high enough in the minds of the selection committee to actually sneak into the top eight and host a CFP game.
Eliminated: San Diego State
The Aztecs are up there for one of the more disappointing teams across the first month of the season, having been blown out by Toledo to drop to 1–3. Things don’t have any let up with several contenders ahead in Pac-12 play either.
Out: Utah State, Washington State
Sun Belt
Alive: Appalachian State, Georgia State, James Madison, Louisiana, Marshall
Don’t discount James Madison’s potential to return to the playoff with the way it has kicked off the Billy Napier era. The Dukes are 4–0, look like the class of the Sun Belt by a wide margin and are outscoring opponents 179–49 across the first month of action. They do play in the stronger of the league’s two divisions and will probably need to run the table if they’re going to snag the bid over competitors like Boise State, but at least look capable of doing that so far.
Eliminated: South Alabama, Old Dominion, Troy
While South Alabama falling to Kenucky after playing an inspired first half was expected, Troy falling on the road to Utah State may have been the surprising result of the Trojans’ season so far. Add in a rough start to ODU’s campaign to drop to 1–3 and this trio of Sun Belt sides can now firmly not worry about any designs on the CFP moving forward.
Out: Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Louisiana Tech, Louisiana-Monroe, Southern Miss
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