FanPost

What-If Playoff Bracket: 11/18

More football more fun! Time to revisit the pipe dream playoff field. If you're late to the party, there's more of an explanation here.

A week after Stanford handled Oregon, they turn around and drop the proverbial ball against a Kiffin-less and therefore improving USC squad. Otherwise there wasn't much shifting among the heavyweights. Oklahoma St. jumped a couple SEC teams with their win over Texas, but due to playoff selection procedures this didn't affect the field at all, as Texas A&M and South Carolina weren't eligible. With a fraction of a lead over UCLA, Michigan State gives the Big Ten its first at-large bid to date.

Here's the latest field:

#1 Alabama (SEC Champion) [Last week: 1]
#2 Florida State (ACC Champion) [2]
#3 Ohio State (Big Ten Champion) [3]
#4 Baylor (Big 12 Champion) [5]
#5 Oregon (Pac-12 Champion) [6]
#6 Auburn (At-large, SEC #2) [7]
#7 Clemson (At-large, ACC #2) [8]
#8 Missouri (At-large, SEC #3) [9]
#9 Stanford (At-large, Pac-12 #2) [4]
#10 Oklahoma State (At-large, Big 12 #2) [10]
#11 Michigan State* (At-large, Big Ten #2) [DNQ]
#12 Fresno State (Mountain West Champion) [12]
#13 Northern Illinois (MAC Champion) [13]
#14 Central Florida (AAC Champion) [14]
#15 East Carolina (C-USA Champion) [15]
#16 Louisiana-Lafayette (Sun Belt Champion) [16]

Ineligible Qualifiers:
#11 South Carolina (SEC #4; replaced by Michigan State)
#12 Texas A&M (SEC #5; bypassed by Michigan State)

Bubble Teams:
UCLA (8-2)
Arizona State (8-2)
Wisconsin (8-2)
Oklahoma (8-2)
Louisville (9-1)

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The second-round matchup potential in this one is probably the best yet. Michigan St.-Ohio St., Baylor-Oregon, and Alabama-Stanford are all very interesting.

Thoughts?

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