On Tuesday night, the College Football Playoff Bowl Selection Committee released its second Top 25 rankings. Six Big Ten teams made the top 25 — UCLA at No. 4, Indiana at No. 9, Iowa at No. 15, Oregon at No. 16, USC at No. 18, and Ohio State at No. 20.
12 teams will ultimately make the College Football Playoff, and if the season ended today, there would be two Big Ten teams making the cut — UCLA and Indiana. UCLA would have a first-round bye and play
the winner of No. 12 Boise State and No. 5 Notre Dame in the CFP Quarterfinals, while Indiana would have a first-round road matchup at No. 8 Tennessee.
The only Big Ten team that’s undefeated in the CFP Top 25 is UCLA at 9-0 — Indiana has one loss; two-loss teams include USC and Iowa, while Oregon and Ohio State have three losses.
Among the Big Ten teams with the highest betting odds to win the national championship, Indiana has the best chance at +1000, per FanDuel Sportsbook. Next is UCLA at +3500, followed by USC at +5500.
Per ESPN’s College Football Power Index, only two Big Ten teams have over a 50% chance of making the playoffs. ESPN’s FPI gives Indiana a 75.2% chance of making the playoffs and UCLA a 61.1% chance.
It’s been a strange season for the Big Ten — Ohio State only has a 36.9% chance of making the playoffs, and Oregon is at 28.6%. UCLA is by far the biggest surprise in the Big Ten and wasn’t expected to be in the conversation, yet it may wind up being the Bruins as the last team standing in the conference.
What are your impressions of the first CFP rankings? Let us know in the comments.
