It took five years. Took some legal wrangling and financial fireworks from all involved in the NIL boom era, but we’re finally here.
There’s not a single team in college football that’s clearly better than all others. Not even a group of three or four or five.
No Alabama or Georgia or Ohio State of years past. Just a whole lot of on any given Saturday.
Or the NFL-ication of college football. Good, everyone is the enemy of great.
Parity has arrived in the race for the College Football Playoff.
“We have to evolve more and continue,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said after the Canes beat Pitt silly, and remained one of three FBS unbeatens by avoiding the poll carnage of the last three weeks.
winners and losers from Week 8
We haven’t even reached November in the USA TODAY Sports Playoff Predictor, and already there have been losses from 10 teams ranked in the Top 10 of the US LBM Coaches Poll — in the last three weeks alone.
Blame whatever you want: quarterback injuries, home-field advantage, poor officiating, or just plain bad luck. The reality is the NIL era evened rosters, and eliminated the super teams.
Or even the really good teams.
Consider this absurd stretch of wins and losses on any given Saturday among the 10 teams of the best conference in college football:
Oklahoma lost to Kentucky, which lost to Alabama, which lost to Georgia, which lost to Auburn, which lost to LSU, which lost to Ole Miss, which lost to Texas, which lost to Florida, which lost to Missouri, which lost to Ole Miss.
Now that we’ve dealt with that nonsense, it’s time to dive into this week’s Playoff Predictor — which lost any sense of normalcy over the last three weeks.
College Football Playoff predictions
1. Miami: Unbeaten, untested. But there are numerous teams in the Playoff Predictor that would give the Hurricanes all they want. Next: at North Carolina.
2. Georgia: How in the world did Auburn go on the road and beat Georgia, then come unhinged a week later? Next: vs. Florida.
3. Ohio State: Freshman QB Luke Fahey will play much better than you’d think. But enough to avoid two losses over the next five games? Next: at Southern California.
4. Indiana: Josh Hoover isn’t Fernando Mendoza. He may not even be Kurtis Rourke. Next: vs. Minnesota.
5. Kentucky: When you’re plus-13 in turnover differential, the margin for error increases. This team believes it can win any week — a huge advantage. Next: Bye.
6. LSU: The offense and QB Sam Leavitt are starting to heat up. And just in time with a brutal stretch of upcoming games. Next: Bye.
7. Utah: Devon Dampier is fun to watch. So is Bear Bachmeier. Utah’s unbeaten run may only last as long as its matchup with BYU. Next: at Cincinnati.
8. UCLA: Be prepared, Bruins. SEC wonks will be out in full force about the fortunate schedule. Next: Nevada.
9. BYU: The loss to UCF, and Texas Tech’s loss to Cincinnati, were damaging blows to Big 12’s two-team CFP argument. Next: vs. Arizona State
10. Notre Dame: The loss to BYU looks different now. The schedule still, and has always been, a one-game shot (Miami). Next: vs. Navy.
11. Alabama: Raise your hand if the home win over tanking Texas A&M made you feel better about the shaky Tide. Yeah, me neither. Next: Bye.
12. Boise State: Appalachian State got things started by beating previously unbeaten James Madison. Unless Pac-12 gives Boise State a break in the flex week, Broncos will likely have to beat Oregon State twice to reach CFP. Next: vs. Texas State.
First-round byes
Miami
Georgia
Ohio State
Indiana
First round
(12) Boise State at (5) Kentucky
(11) Alabama at (6) LSU
(10) Notre Dame at (7) Utah
(9) BYU at (8) UCLA
Quarterfinals
BYU-UCLA winner vs. (1) Miami
Notre Dame-Utah winner vs. Georgia (2)
Alabama-LSU winner vs. (3) Ohio State
Boise State-Kentucky winner vs. (4) Indiana
Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB. Listen to him daily, from 12-2 p.m., on 1010XL-Jacksonville.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Playoff Predictor: Parity impacting CFP rankings with another raft of changes
