Just three weeks remain in college football’s regular season! We’re less than a month away from championship weekend and a top four being announced by the College Football Playoff selection committee. Georgia’s impressive win over Tennessee pushed the Bulldogs to No. 1 in the rankings, and Ohio State stayed No. 2 despite an underwhelming performance against lowly Northwestern. But which teams saw major changes to their postseason hopes this week? Here’s a look at the biggest movers, using insights from SI Tickets’ postseason reservations.
LSU’s Playoff Hopes Surge
Brian Kelly has No. 7 LSU officially in the College Football Playoff conversation in his first year in Baton Rouge.
The Tigers winning in overtime against Alabama Saturday shifted the balance of power in the SEC West and created a path (albeit a narrow one) to the CFP despite LSU’s two losses on the season. If LSU wins out and beats Georgia in the SEC championship game, the Tigers would have a real case to become the first team with two losses to make the playoff. They might need losses from other top playoff contenders, but the door is at least open for Kelly and the Tigers. LSU is now a clear favorite to win the SEC West, seeing SEC championship game ticket reservation prices increase more than 750% on SI Tickets after the win. And as for the playoff, prices for the Fiesta and Peach bowls each went up 67%.
The winner of Ole Miss and Alabama keeps faint hope in the SEC West, though the Tide’s SEC title game reservation prices dropped 70% over the weekend. Either team would need help from LSU’s upcoming SEC opponents, Arkansas and Texas A&M.
Clemson’s Undefeated Season Over
Things don’t look good for the Tigers (or the ACC as a whole) right now in the CFP conversation after Dabo Swinney’s team was blown out by Notre Dame in South Bend over the weekend. As Pat Forde wrote, “It doesn’t bode well for the league that a largely disappointing Notre Dame team has beaten both of its current one-loss teams, Clemson and North Carolina, by double digits.”
An undefeated Power 5 conference champion was always going to have a strong case for a spot in the top four, even if they had looked unimpressive at points. But without a zero in the loss column, Clemson’s weaknesses come into clear focus, and it’s not a pretty picture for their playoff chances. The loss led to a drop to tenth nationally in the CFP rankings and a 74% decrease in the Tigers’ national championship ticket reservation prices on SI Tickets.
Watch college football with fuboTV. Start your free trial today.
In Chaotic Week, Other Contenders Hold Serve
Michigan, Oregon and TCU were all outside the top four in the first CFP rankings release, with the Ducks and Horned Frogs not even in the top six. Michigan and TCU had some early struggles with Rutgers and Texas Tech, respectively, before pulling away in the second half, while Oregon never stumbled against a very overmatched Colorado team.
Each team’s path to the playoff is different: TCU and Michigan likely still control their own destiny if they can finish as undefeated conference champions, while Oregon may need some help given their blowout season-opening loss to Georgia. But the big increases in each team’s playoff and national title chances (reservation prices up 73%, 52% and 44% for Michigan, TCU and Oregon, respectively) despite beating subpar opponents is proof that sometimes just taking care of business is all that’s necessary this time of year. The Wolverines rose to No. 3 in the CFP rankings, TCU climbed all the way to No. 4, and Oregon rounded out the top six for a two-spot increase from last week.
Big 12 Title Race Keeps Heating Up
Any path for TCU to get to the College Football Playoff likely requires winning the Big 12 title. And while the Horned Frogs are very well-positioned to at least make the conference championship game, who they’ll play in that game is entirely up for grabs.
The Horned Frogs themselves will have a say in who they end up playing. Texas, their opponent this week, has new life in their hunt for the Big 12 crown after beating Kansas State last weekend and is one of three teams with two losses in the conference. Beating KSU bumped Texas’ Big 12 championship game ticket reservation prices by 67%. Baylor, another two-loss team, aided by the K-State loss, saw its prices rise 55%. The Bears take on Kansas State this weekend, meaning the four best teams in the league are in action against each other.
