College Football Playoff Eliminator After Week 10: Rankings Thin After Separation Saturday

Seven ranked-vs.-ranked matchups in Week 10 represented a separation Saturday as teams inched to the doorstep of securing their playoff bids and others found their backs firmly against the wall. The bracket itself should undergo plenty of changes going into Tuesday night’s latest Top 25 from the committee, ironically helping narrow the field just a day after the CFP itself expanded for next season.

With all that in mind, it’s time to examine just what the impact of the results from the past weekend will have 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 10.

College Football Playoff field after Week 10

Playoff locks

Zero teams (0% of the bracket)

Alive for a CFP bid

28 teams, 20% of FBS

ACC (5)
Big 12 (5)
Big Ten (6)
SEC (7)
Independent (1)
American (2)
Conference USA (0)
MAC (0)
Mountain West (1)
Pac-12 (1)
Sun Belt (1)

Teams eliminated after Week 10

Florida
Minnesota
Mississippi
Northwestern
UTSA
Virginia Tech

Out of the playoff chase

110 teams, 80% of FBS

ACC (12)
Big 12 (11)
Big Ten (10)
SEC (9)
Independent (1)
American (12)
Conference USA (10)
MAC (13)
Mountain West (9)
Pac-12 (7)
Sun Belt (14)

ACC

Alive: Clemson, Duke, Miami, SMU, Wake Forest

A heavy nonconference weekend in the league meant there was not a ton of movement in the standings. That should change in the next few weeks however as a two-bid ACC remains a potential option if Wake Forest can keep winning and Miami returns to form against Duke in the Darian Mensah bowl.

Eliminated: Virginia Tech

Pour one out for James Franklin, who appropriately got eliminated by a school two major airports a short drive away a few days after complaining about travel. The Hokies can still finish this rebuilding season strong but a surprise CFP run never really ever seemed in the cards.

Out: Boston College, California, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, NC State, North Carolina, Pitt, Stanford, Syracuse, Virginia

Big 12

Alive: Arizona, BYU, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Utah

The entertainment factor remains high in the Big 12, where the bang for your buck goes a long way given the lack of defense much of the conference seems to play. The Holy War certainly inched Utah closer to locking up a CFP spot as it trends toward a favorable Fiesta or Rose Bowl quarterfinal while BYU can still hold out hope for a 10–2 at-large bid even if the Big 12 title game might be tougher to fathom at this point.

Eliminated: None

Out: Arizona State, Baylor, Cincinnati, Colorado, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, TCU, UCF, West Virginia

Big Ten

Alive: Indiana, Iowa, Ohio State, USC, UCLA, Wisconsin

Let’s talk about the Buckeyes, which seem all but dead for the playoff—and probably are even at 9–3. The selection committee would be well within their right to ignore the win over Indiana to allow a healthy SEC team to get in over them (to say nothing of a potential 10–2 Iowa). That means their only hope is some help for someone to knock off Indiana and sneak into the final Big Ten title game to snag the auto bid.

Eliminated: Minnesota, Northwestern

It seemed closer than it was for both the Gophers and the Wildcats despite those final scorelines but the road has certainly come to an end. The good news is that they would still have a future in a 24-team world and there’s still some massive wins left to secure the rest of November.

Out: Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, Washington

SEC

Alive: Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas

Georgia is perilously close to locking up their playoff bid and can do so on Saturday if it sends Missouri to the elimination pile. Everybody else more or less remains alive and it’s not hard to see some three-loss team emerge from the above names to wind up making the field given the top 15 victories still out there.

Eliminated: Florida, Mississippi

Can you make sense of the Gators from week to week? Jon Sumrall probably can’t either even if there’s been several signs of progress. The Rebels, meanwhile, were so thoroughly dominated that a return to the CFP can be ruled out. Their résumé took a further hit over the weekend and the team really hasn’t been the same with Kewan Lacy out on the field.

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Out: Arkansas, Auburn, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt

Independents

Alive: Notre Dame

The Irish can add another classic to the series rivalry with Miami while also inching closer to the CFP following their must-win result in South Bend. The outlook is quite simple now for Marcus Freeman’s team: Emerge victorious in two of their last three and you can book a trip to the playoff next month.

Eliminated: None

Out: UConn

American

Alive: Memphis, North Texas

It seems doubtful that either the Tigers or Mean Green will see an appearance in the committee’s Top 25 before Selection Sunday but they can remain hopeful of finishing at 11–2 and at least force a decision with either Boise State or New Mexico for inclusion as the Group of 6 rep.

Eliminated: UTSA

The Roadrunners still have a shot at winning the conference but getting torched by Easton Messer and FAU ends any shot at securing the Group of 6 bid unless true carnage transpires in these ranks the rest of the month. Allowing 60 should put a pin in things as is.

Out: Army, Charlotte, East Carolina, Florida Atlantic, Navy, Rice, South Florida, Temple, Tulane, Tulsa, UAB

Conference USA

Alive: None

Out: Delaware, Florida International, Jacksonville State, Kennesaw State, Liberty, Middle Tennessee State, Missouri State, New Mexico State, Sam Houston State, Western Kentucky

MAC

Alive: None

Out: Akron, Ball State, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Miami (Ohio), Ohio, Sacramento State, Toledo, UMass, Western Michigan

Mountain West

Alive: New Mexico

It won’t be an easy run to any CFP bid, with UNLV, Wyoming and Air Force to close out the season for the Lobos. Their phenomenal defense will keep them as the favorite to capture the MWC title, but they’ll need to start looking impressive all around if they want to truly catch Boise State in the rankings.

Eliminated: None

Out: Air Force, Hawai‘i, Nevada, North Dakota State, Northern Illinois, San José State, UNLV, UTEP, Wyoming

Pac-12

Alive: Boise State

No QB, no problem for the Broncos as their backup helped torch Colorado State. Next up? A visit from College GameDay and the original Pac-12 member possibly being the biggest test left on the schedule.

Eliminated: None

Out: Colorado State, Fresno State, Oregon State, San Diego State, Texas State, Utah State, Washington State

Sun Belt

Alive: None

Out: Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, James Madison, Louisiana, Louisiana Tech, Louisiana-Monroe, Marshall, Old Dominion, South Alabama, Southern Miss, Troy

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