Alabama Football: Analysis of CFP contenders and pretenders
(6-0). . Nittany Lions . . team. 806.
Penn State is sitting at a rather quiet 6-0 record. Don’t overlook the Nittany Lions. They are sneaky good in 2019. Their last 6 games of the season are all winnable and I would not be surprised to see them challenge Ohio State. This team is for real.
Contender – 11-1
. team. 843. . (5-1). . Utes
Utah is underrated to me. I think they are the best hope for the PAC-12 to make the Playoff in 2019. They have a stellar defense and a ball control offense that just wears teams down. Their only remaining game that gives me pause is @Washington on November 2. I think they run the table in the regular season to set up a huge PAC-12 Championship game vs. Oregon.
Contender – 11-1
. team. 889. . (5-1). . Demon Deacons
Wake Forest is the only AP unranked team on this list, but they still do have an outside chance to make the Playoff. If they win out and beat the ACC Coastal champion, then they have an argument at inclusion in the Playoff. Unfortunately, they have Clemson left on the schedule and simply put, there is a reason they are unranked. They have benefited from a rather lackluster schedule to this point and the back half of the season could get ugly for the Demon Deacons.
Pretender – 7-5
809. . (6-0). . Badgers . . team
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before Alabama football fans. Shutdown defense, ball-control offense, a game-manager QB that doesn’t turn the ball over, and a Heisman contender at RB. That sounds an awful lot like the Alabama football teams from 2009 and 2015. That is now the calling card for this year’s Wisconsin team. The Badgers are for real and will give Ohio State a fight in the BIG-10. Ultimately, I don’t think they have the offensive firepower to beat the Buckeyes, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they won.
Contender – 11-1
Next. Tide vs. SEC Statistically. dark
Well, there you have it. 19 teams fighting for four Playoff spots and one National Championship trophy. The way I see it there are really only Alabama football and six other contenders for the championship, to go along with a couple of teams that could make the Playoff because of their schedule, and a bunch of pretenders. What do you think? Did I miss somebody? Mislabel a team? Let me know, who are your contenders?