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College Football Playoff: How perceptions can change in one week

By Charlie Lockhart

ATLANTA, GA - DECEMBER 31: Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide looks on during warm ups prior to the 2016 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl against the Washington Huskies at the Georgia Dome on December 31, 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - DECEMBER 31: Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide looks on during warm ups prior to the 2016 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl against the Washington Huskies at the Georgia Dome on December 31, 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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Teams in the mix for the College Football Playoff after Week 1.

It’s amazing how one’s perception can change after just one week of the college football season is in the books. My thoughts on which teams will be contenders for the College Football Playoff have already changed somewhat, how about yours?

I still have Alabama and Ohio State on a collision course to meet in the College Football Playoff with one of them winning the national title. But after that, things have changed? Here is a look at other teams in contention for a playoff spot, at least for the moment.

Unlike last year when I picked Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Washington to make the playoff right off the bat, this year I just filled in 3 and 4 with whoever ended up as champions from two conferences. That has changed after one game. First let’s look at the ACC contenders

I didn’t have the ACC champion locked into the College Football Playoff. I thought Florida State would lose to Alabama, which they did, and stumble at some other point in the season.

The Seminoles would be left out of the playoff with two losses. And Clemson had big shoes to fill with Deshaun Watson gone and would drop a couple of games along the way.

But now things have turned upside down. It appears Clemson has a solid quarterback, and FSU will be searching for a replacement for Deondre Francis..

Kelly Bryant stepped forward and had a very good start to his career as the Tiger’s quarterback. Francis unfortunately suffered a season ending injury in the Alabama game. I now see a clear path for Clemson to get back to the playoff and defend their title.

I had a one loss PAC 12 champion, USC or Washington, making the playoff. Not so sure after Week 1. Neither the USC 49-31 win over Western Michigan or Washington defeating Rutgers 30-14 was all that impressive.

I still have a Big 12 team as having a nice path to the playoffs. Both Oklahoma and Oklahoma State could be in the mix. If either the Sooners or Cowboys win the conference championship and only have one loss, I think they are in.

The College Football Playoff Committee won’t want to exclude the Big 12 for a second year in a row. Remember the 2015 season, Oklahoma made the playoff when they finished 11-1 and Ohio State was left out with the same record. Even though everyone thought the Buckeyes were the best team in the country.

As far as the Big Ten goes, Penn State looked like a contender and Michigan a pretender. The Nittanly Lions were impressive to say the least.

RB Saquon Barkley, QB Trace McSorely and TE Mike Gesicki were extremely impressive. If the defense continues to play the way they did versus Akron, look out.

Michigan was one of the most talented teams I watched play this weekend. So why do I say the Wolverines are pretenders, that’s because they play out of control. Guess that saying a team mirrors it’s head coach holds true.

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On the second play of the game, Michigan’s outstanding linebacker Devin Bush was called for a personal foul while hitting a ball carrier out-of-bounds. Somehow, after an extensive replay review of the play, Bush wasn’t ejected from the game. The “rules expert” in the booth said he did hit a defenseless player high and should have been ejected, and I totally agreed.

Later, quarterback Wilton Speight threw two pick-sixes in a short period of time. It put Florida up 17-10 when the Gators couldn’t do anything on offense.

Sometime during this mess, a Wolverine wide receiver made a catch for a first down, then spun the ball on the ground and received a 15 yard penalty for his antic. Later, two wide receivers also flipped the ball in such a way they could have been flagged for penalties after catching touchdown passes.

Another officiating crew may have called two more unsportsmanlike penalties against Michigan and sent Devin Bush to the showers when the game was just getting started. You can almost bet the Wolverines will self destruct with their out of control behavior in a crucial game later in the season. That’s why I call them pretenders and not contenders.

Next: Big Ten Observations: Who's Hot, Who's Not in Week 1?

Well, week 1 is in the books and perceptions of the playoff landscape may change after week 2. After all, it is college football and anything can happen.

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