Who will survive?
The fog is starting to clear and teams are separating themselves. Three undefeated teams fell on Saturday and they were arguably all pretenders. Michigan, Illinois, and Georgia Tech had all put in sub-par performances in previous weeks and they payed for it. So who’s left?
- LSU
- Alabama
- Oklahoma
- Stanford
- Oklahoma St
- Wisconsin
- Boise St
- Clemson
- Houston
- Kansas State
Who will survive? Let’s take a look at the teams above based on who they’ve beat and what tough games they have left.
Kansas State
Key wins: Miami, Missouri
Teams left: Oklahoma, Ok St, Texas, Texas A&M
Odds of going undefeated: Kansas State will be lucky to go 9-3 this year. 0%
Houston
Key wins: UCLA
Teams left: SMU
Odds of going undefeated: It’s an easy schedule but I’m not sure how good Houston really is beyond Case Keenum. 30%
Clemson
Key wins: Virginia Tech, Florida State, Auburn
Teams left: Georgia Tech, South Carolina, ACC title game
Odds of going undefeated: Clemson seems have survived the early onslaught and now just have to avoid falling into the trap of past Clemson teams. They still have to travel to Atlanta and will most likely have a rematch in the ACC title game with either GT or VT. Re-matches are always tough to win. 60%
Boise State
Key wins: Georgia
Teams left: TCU
Odds of going undefeated: TCU looks like a shadow of their former selves. Boise will not be denied after a disappointing late loss last year to Nevada. 95%
Wisconsin
Key wins: Nebraska
Teams left: Michigan State, Ohio State, Big 10 title game
Odds of going undefeated: Wisconsin has looked pretty unstoppable so far but they still have a lot of games left. Still, the Big 10 has not been impressive so far. 65%
Oklahoma State
Key wins: Texas, Texas A&M
Teams left: Oklahoma
Odds of going undefeated: I like what the Cowboys have done so far but they looked vulnerable against Texas. The won’t lose until they get to Oklahoma and but they don’t survive against a more complete Sooner team. 15%
Stanford
Key wins: Washington State?
Teams left: Oregon, Notre Dame, Pac-12 title game
Odds of going undefeated: Stanford is a big question mark right now. They have not been that impressive against inferior talent. Oregon is injury ridden but even if they survive that battle Notre Dame and the Pac-12 title game still stand in their way. 45%
Oklahoma
Key wins: Texas, Florida State
Teams left: Texas A&M, Oklahoma State
Odds of going undefeated: Oklahoma has been impressive so far. They stumbled a little against Mizzou but have been strong since. They do have to travel to Stillwater but this is a complete team. They’ll be undefeated and in the BCS title game baring anything unusual. 65%
Alabama
Key wins: Florida, Arkansas
Teams left: LSU, Auburn, SEC title game
Odds of going undefeated: It all comes down to Alabama-LSU. Both teams have looked unstoppable so far. With only Auburn left after LSU, I think Alabama gets the slight nod here. 55%
LSU
Key wins: Oregon, WVU, Florida
Teams left: Auburn, Arkansas, Alabama, SEC title game
Odds of going undefeated: LSU has proven themselves on the road so far but playing at Alabama will be too much for Les Miles and the tigers. Even if they survive Alabama there is still a tough Arkansas team waiting at the end of the year. 45%
