Image: Torsten Bolten
IN THIS ISSUE:
MVP Chase Update
College Football playoff eliminations
College Football rankings
MVP Chase Update
In the 2018 draft, I was skeptical that Baker Mayfield had the talent to be a #1 overall draft pick. For his draft class, he might never be as good as Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson already have been. But he's been a winner on his fourth team, Tampa, with good statistics to boot.
Earlier this year, I ranked Mayfield as the 32nd-best #1 overall pick since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. That was based only on how well things worked out for him with the team that drafted him. Only five such QBs won a Super Bowl with the team that drafted them: Terry Bradshaw, Troy Aikman, John Elway, Eli Manning, and Peyton Manning. Matthew Stafford and Jim Plunkett were starting QBs for Super Bowl winners for a team that didn't draft them.
Mayfield may join the latter pair at some point. Nevertheless, he's solidified himself as "belonging" to the 1st Overall club. As Carson Palmer and Alex Smith did, and as Jared Goff's been doing, Mayfield's been winning a lot of games and making the playoffs frequently. And that is what you want. It's a long season, but he's had a good start, tied for third in the MVP Chase:
College Football Playoff Eliminations
Here are nine additional teams I wouldn't invite to the FBS Playoffs even if they ran the table. Teams with four or more losses also won't make it, obviously, but it's more interesting to eliminate supposedly good teams now.
Arizona St 4-2 lost by 32 to Utah
Florida St 3-3; 0-3 in conference
Fresno St - 5-2 lost by 28 to Colorado St
Louisiana Tech 4-2 lost by 28 to Kennesaw St
Michigan St 3-3 lost by 25 to UCLA; 0-3 in conference
NC St 4-3 lost by 29 to Notre Dame
Penn St 3-3: Despite being three plays from being undefeated, they are 0-3 in conference. Fired the coach.
Rice 3-3 Lost by 48 to UTSA
South Carolina 3-3: 3 conference losses
This brings the total eliminations to 63. You can see the other 54 teams here.
Ranking the Undefeated and One-Loss Teams
The numbers beside each team reflect the number of wins by opponents the team has beaten, with a deduction depending on the number of losses by the team it lost to and the margin of defeat.
In cases of a tie among the top 12 teams (those I would select as playoff-bound if the playoffs began today), I prioritize the team with the better record and include an explanatory note when the records are identical.
Beyond the top 12, teams that are tied are in alphabetical order. I don't have an AP Top 25 ballot, and it hardly matters for the Playoff Chase. For reference, I included two-loss Notre Dame, whose only losses are by one score to undefeated teams.
Indiana (6-0) - 22
Ohio St (6-0) - 21
Texas A&M (6-0) - 19; more dominant over competition than Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech (6-0) - 19
Ole Miss (6-0) - 18
Texas Tech (6-0) - 16
Miami FL (5-0) - 14 - same points as BYU with one less game
BYU (6-0) - 14
Alabama - 14; lost by 14 to Florida State; closer to being undefeated than Washington
Washington - 14 lost by 18 to Ohio State
Cincinnati (5-1) - 13
Memphis (6-0) - 12
USC (5-1) - 12
Navy (6-0) - 11
(15 through 20 listed alphabetically)
Georgia (5-1) 11
LSU (5-1) 11
Nebraska (5-1) 11
North Texas (5-1) 11
Oklahoma (5-1) 11
Oregon (5-1) 11
Louisville (4-1) - 10
NOTRE DAME (4-2) - 10
UNLV (6-0) - 9
Tennessee (5-1) - 9
(Tied 24th) Tulane (5-1) - 9
Virginia (5-1)- 8
Houston (5-1)- 7
(T-27th) Missouri (5-1) - 7
(T-27th) Utah (5-1) - 7
Vanderbilt (5-1) - 5
James Madison (5-1) - 4
San Diego State (5-1) - 3
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Contact James Leroy Wilson for writing, editing, research, and other work at jamesleroywilson-at-gmail.com. Visit JL Cells for my non-sports writing.
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