Projected CFP rankings after Michigan upsets Ohio State, South Carolina beats Clemson

Rivalry week has already exploded with a bang. We saw Tulane lose to Memphis in a game the Green Wave couldn’t afford if it had serious College Football Playoff aspirations. Even though neither team won on Saturday, the Clemson Tigers and Ohio State Buckeyes are still alive to make it for now. Ohio State lost to Michigan for the fourth straight year. Clemson blew it against South Carolina.

Ohio State finishes the season 10-2 with two Big Ten losses to Oregon and Michigan. The Buckeyes need to lose to Penn State and Indiana to get to the Big Ten Championship Game. All Penn State has to do is beat Maryland to get in. Indiana must drop Penn State and then beat Purdue to face the Ducks in Indianapolis. Clemson can reach Charlotte while Miami loses to Syracuse.

With Clemson, Ohio State and Tulane all losing, these are the latest predictions for the playoff rankings.

1. Oregon Ducks
2. Texas Longhorns
3. Penn State Nittany Lions
4. Notre Dame fights against Irish
5. Miami Hurricanes
6. Georgia Bulldogs
7. Tennessee Volunteers
8. Ohio State Buckeyes
9. SMU Mustangs
10. Indiana Hoosiers
11. Boise State Broncos
12. Alabama Crimson Tide
13. Ole Miss Rebels
14. South Carolina Gamecocks
15. Arizona State Sun Devils
16. Cyclones in the state of Iowa
17. BYU Cougars
18. Texas A&M Aggies
19. Clemson Tigers
20. Missouri Tigers
21. UNLV Rebels
22. Illinois fights Illinois
23. Kansas State Wildcats
24. Colorado buffalo
25. Tulane Green Wave

Ohio State would fall from No. 2 to No. 8 with this three-point loss to Michigan. The Buckeyes’ two losses totaled four points. Penn State and Indiana’s wins support them, but this loss to the Wolverines is significant. Clemson would fall from 12th to 19th. They would be in the same bucket as other three-loss contenders like Texas A&M and Missouri.

Tulane could still crack the next College Football Playoff rankings at No. 25, just to keep it interesting.

For Clemson, the Tigers are now the ACC equivalent of Texas A&M. They need to win their conference championship to have a chance at the playoffs now. Right now, South Carolina is moving up one spot, but the Gamecocks could be in the top 12 after Tuesday night’s second-to-last playoff rankings. I’ll have to wait and see how the rest of the weekend’s games turn out.

Ohio State is probably still in the playoffs, but the Buckeyes are probably just the last Big Ten team to make the playoffs. That would, quite honestly, give them something like a No. 10 or No. 11 seed. The Buckeyes would be a brutal matchup for someone in the first round of the playoffs. With Texas potentially losing to Texas A&M during rivalry week, they need a lot of chaos now to avoid getting away.

Overall, South Carolina and Tennessee are without question the biggest winners on the early afternoon slate. The Vols are all but assured of making the playoffs at 10-2 at this point. South Carolina could be a serious contender to be one of the last teams in the game with a 9-3 team. The Gamecocks may be fighting with the likes of Ohio State and other two-loss teams for the final spot in this game.

Right now, Clemson’s only hope of making the playoffs is if Syracuse upsets Miami here.