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With two weeks left, there’s eight teams for four spots.

That’s the overly simplified version of the College Football Playoff landscape right now, according to the Allstate Playoff Predictor. Of course, the positions of those eight teams are wildly different from one another, so that’s where we’re going to rely on the Predictor — which uses FPI projections and predicts the committee’s selection process based on its past behavior — to answer key questions about the playoff race as we near the finish line.


Who gets in if everyone wins out?

Everyone, in this case, is: Georgia, Ohio State (after beating an 11-0 Michigan in Week 13), TCU, Clemson and USC.

That would make three undefeated slam dunks in the first teams listed above and result in a battle for the final spot between Michigan, USC and Clemson.

This is close! And it would be a fascinating decision for the committee. Here’s where the Playoff Predictor lands:

Michigan: 52%
USC: 31%
Clemson: 23%

(Note: those numbers add up to more than 100% on the off-chance the committee decides to leave out TCU).

So why does the model lean toward one-loss Michigan over the two one-loss conference champs? Two key factors: résumé and team quality.

Outside of the conference championship, we project that an 11-1 Michigan would actually have a slightly superior Strength of Record than a 12-1 USC or 12-1 Clemson, though it is exceptionally close with the Trojans and could flip. Michigan is also, in FPI’s mind, the best team of the three — by a lot. The Wolverines are ranked No. 4 in FPI, while Clemson and USC trail at Nos. 9 and 14, respectively.

So from the model’s perspective it sees a team with the better FPI and SOR, and that’s usually the team that gets the better ranking. But the conference championship muddies the waters, which is why this isn’t clear at all.

What if Michigan, instead of Ohio State, ends up 13-0 in the above scenario?

That sets up what should be a fairly easy selection process for the committee, with Georgia, Michigan and TCU virtual locks and Ohio State as a heavy favorite to land that last place.

Ohio State: 79%
USC: 16%
Clemson: 14%

The Buckeyes are the No. 2 ranked team in FPI and also would have a slightly stronger 11-1 SOR than an 11-1 Michigan, meaning Ohio State would also be ahead of USC and Clemson in the résumé metric.

What happens if Michigan or Ohio State lose in the Big Ten championship game?

This is too unlikely for us to do a full-blown scenario, but I think we can get the general idea by just plugging in, for starters, an Ohio State loss in that game — against whoever the opponent may be (Iowa, Purdue and Illinois all still have a chance to win the Big Ten West).

According to the Predictor, the Buckeyes would still have a 94% chance to get into the playoff in this scenario. That would drop a little bit if Clemson, TCU and USC all won out, but it still would be awfully likely Ohio State gets in.

For Michigan, it’s a pretty similar story: A loss in the Big Ten championship game — which the Wolverines can only get to by beating Ohio State first — still gives them an 86% chance at the playoff. Again, that would drop a little bit if everything else went against them elsewhere, but they’d probably still get in.

Is a one-loss TCU finished?

The Predictor says: not necessarily, particularly if the loss is to Iowa State, and then TCU goes on to win the Big 12 championship. At that point, TCU would be a one-loss conference champion with an average strength of record rank of 2.7. That’s the résumé of a playoff team! Independent of results elsewhere, the Predictor says TCU would have a 71% shot at the playoff in this spot, which I think might be a bit of a shock.

This drops to 64% if Clemson and USC also win out. But from the model’s perspective, TCU would have clearly the best résumé of those three teams at that point.

Is there any chance Alabama sneaks in?

*Whispers* Yes, there’s a chance.

We mentioned there are eight teams with a shot at the playoff at the top and have talked about six of them thus far. The seventh is LSU, which can get in by winning out. The eighth is Alabama. Consider this scenario:

• Georgia wins the SEC

• Ohio State wins out

• Clemson, TCU and USC all lose in conference championship games

In this situation there are three teams virtually certain to get in: Georgia, Ohio State and Michigan. Who else? The Predictor leans TCU over Alabama 46% to 39%, but it’s close! And if we give TCU a loss against Iowa State, too, then Alabama would be the favorite for that fourth spot.

Is the Predictor overrating Alabama’s chances to reach the CFP at 12% right now? Probably by a little bit. But is it impossible the Crimson Tide get in? It is not.

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Sources: Sumrall the favorite to land Florida job

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Sources: Sumrall the favorite to land Florida job

Tulane coach Jon Sumrall has emerged as the clear favorite to be the next head coach of the Florida Gators, sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Florida turned its attention away from Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin earlier this week after getting the sense through irregular communication that he is interested in other options, likely a move to LSU or remaining with the Rebels, sources told ESPN on Friday.

Sumrall is expected to make a decision on his future by Sunday morning as he considers staying at Tulane or a move to Gainesville. He also received significant interest from Auburn, but the Tigers have since shifted their focus to other candidates, another indicator that Florida looms as the clear leader for Sumrall’s services, sources said.

Sumrall, a former SEC player at Kentucky, where he later served as an assistant coach and co-defensive coordinator, is 18-7 in two seasons at Tulane. He also won back-to-back Sun Belt titles as head coach at Troy in 2022 and 2023.

Sumrall, 43, garnered outside interest after his first season with Tulane, earning a contract extension after just one season at the helm.

Tulane (9-2) hosts Charlotte on Saturday night in its regular-season finale. The Green Wave can clinch a spot in the American Conference championship game against North Texas with a win over the 49ers.

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Ohio St. dominates Michigan to snap losing streak

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Ohio St. dominates Michigan to snap losing streak

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Julian Sayin threw three touchdown passes, including a 35-yarder to Jeremiah Smith on a fourth down in the second quarter, and No. 1 Ohio State beat No. 15 Michigan 27-9 in a dominant performance on Saturday.

The defending national champion Buckeyes (12-0, 9-0 Big Ten, No. 1 CFP) likely earned a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff. They can keep their top seed with a win against No. 2 Indiana (12-0, 9-0, No. 2 CFP) in the conference championship game Saturday night in Indianapolis.

Ryan Day should sleep well, a year after losing The Game when his team was favored by about three touchdowns. The upset extended his losing streak in the series to four games and sparked speculation he might also lose his job.

The Wolverines (9-3, 7-2) started strong with two field goals and an interception on the first three possessions of the game, but couldn’t generate pressure when Ohio State wanted to pass.

After throwing an interception on his second snap, redshirt freshman Sayin took advantage of the time and space he had to throw.

Sayin was 6 of 6 for 68 yards with two touchdowns on third and fourth down in the first half, including a 4-yard throw to Brandon Inniss with 16 seconds left that made it 17-9 at the break. He finished 19 of 26 for 233 yards and threw for at least three touchdowns for the sixth time this season.

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Ohio State-Michigan live updates: Wolverines trying for five straight

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Ohio State-Michigan live updates: Wolverines trying for five straight

Rivalry Week has already seen one upset that will affect a conference championship and College Football Playoff seeding. Could we see another one?

On Friday, Texas upset the Texas A&M Aggies to give A&M its first loss of the season and knock the Aggies out of the SEC championship game. Michigan is in a strikingly similar position. Ohio State is undefeated and No. 1 in the CFP rankings. It needs a win to set up a meeting with Indiana in next week’s Big Ten title game.

OSU has been largely unchallenged since defeating Texas in Week 1, and now it faces its biggest rival, which is hasn’t beaten in four years. Can the Wolverines pull another upset? It’s “The Game,” and we’re tracking the top moments and biggest plays:

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