2014 Death to the BCS Playoffs: Week 7 Edition

I've emerged from the cave where my Bracket Machine lies, and I come bearing a new bracket!

We lucked out last week, as I finally had few enough undefeated teams to build a playoff. With four undefeated teams losing this weekend though, we're down to six overall. This has opened the door to some debate, as at-large bids will have to be claimed by teams that have lost at least once.

I will be using the same metrics as I did last week to build the sixteen-team field, compiled from the ten conference champions and six at-large teams. I still only have one computer ranking, as the UCLA staffer who compiles the late David Rothman's formula hasn't done anything for 2014 yet. Jeff Sagarin has been hard at work though, and he updated his rankings from the weekend. I will be using the purple "Ranking" number to help sort through teams, though my own numbers for NCSS and Playoff Points will also be used, which you can refer to here. At the end of each line will be the team's seeding from last week.

Let's look at the playoff picture.

1. Mississippi State (6-0, SEC "Champion"): NCSS- 4, PP1- 24, PP2- 7.5, SAG- 3 (LW: 3)
2. Ole Miss (6-0, At Large): NCSS- 3, PP1- 21, PP2- 7.0, SAG- 2 (LW: 2)
3. Florida State (6-0, ACC "Champion"): NCSS- 1, PP1- 17, PP2- 5.8, SAG- 11 (LW: 4)
4. Notre Dame (6-0, At Large): NCSS- 11, PP1- 17, PP2- 5.7, SAG- 13 (LW: 6)
5. Marshall (6-0, Conference USA "Champion"): NCSS- 4, PP1- 15, PP2- 3.2, SAG- 35 (LW: 8) 
6. Baylor (6-0, Big 12 "Champion"): NCSS- 2, PP1- 11, PP2- 4.0, SAG- 5 (LW: 9)
7. Auburn (5-1, At Large): NCSS- 5, PP1- 17, PP2- 6.8, SAG- 1 (LW: 1)
8. Michigan State (5-1, Big Ten "Champion"): NCSS-4, PP1- 15, PP2- 5.4, SAG- 14 (LW: NR)
9. USC (4-2, Pac 12 "Champion"): NCSS- 4, PP1- 16, PP2- 9.3, SAG- 21 (LW: NR) 
   
10. Arizona (5-1, At Large): NCSS- 4, PP1- 16, PP2- 6.2, SAG- 32 (LW: 5)
11. Oregon (5-1, At Large): NCSS- 2, PP1- 14, PP2- 7.6, SAG- 10 (LW: NR)
12. Oklahoma (5-1, At Large): NCSS- 5, PP1- 13, PP2- 5.8, SAG- 4 (LW: NR)
13. East Carolina (5-1, American Athletic "Champion"): NCSS- 7, PP1- 8, PP2- 2.6, SAG- 46 (LW: 12)
14. Utah State (4-2, Mountain West "Champion"): NCSS- 8, PP1- 10, PP2- 5.0, SAG- 55 (LW: NR)
15. Bowling Green (5-2, MAC "Champion"): NCSS- 6, PP1- 10, PP2- 1.4, SAG- 99 (LW: NR)
16. Georgia Southern (5-2, Sun Belt "Champion"): NCSS- 5, PP1- 6, PP2- 0.4, SAG- 87 (LW: 14)

Out of the Playoffs: Georgia Tech (7), TCU (10), Northwestern (11), Middle Tennessee (13), Toledo (15), Fresno State (16)

I think this was the biggest change from one week to another in Death to the BCS Playoff History, but only because there were so many undefeated teams left last week, and there were some crazy conference champions. Other conference champs lost, and it opened the door for new blood to come in (Michigan State, USC, and Utah State) and a couple teams to take over top spots (Marshall and Mississippi State).

Photo by Jonathan Daniel (Getty Images)

At large bids were a mixed bag. Ole Miss and Notre Dame were givens, since they're both undefeated. The other four are all one-loss teams, which made filling those spots out a little more difficult. Auburn has the best PP1 out of all the remaining one-loss teams, and Sagarin's ranking has them #1 despite the loss this weekend. I decided to keep Arizona in, considering their PP1 is right up there with Auburn's. Oregon is only a couple points behind, and they're ranked 10th by Sagarin, so I'm giving the Pac 12 a third berth. Oklahoma got the last spot, despite only 13 First Degree Playoff Points. Their 4th place ranking by Sagarin and strong PP2 spot got them in.

The first teams out? Alabama and Georgia both have 14 First Degree Playoff Points, though Georgia has a better PP2 than Bama (6.4 to 5.6). Both are ranked lower than Oklahoma by Sagarin, and I'm iffy about giving the SEC four berths at this stage. Georgia is probably my first out, followed by Alabama. TCU is right there too, but 10 First Degree Playoff Points are too few for my taste. Georgia Tech had a decent argument too at 15 First Degree Playoff Points, but no real signature win in my opinion. Keep an eye on them though.

The idea here with relation to the College Football Playoff is that the top four seeds would be the teams I'd pick to make their field. Comparing to the Death to the BCS Playoffs field... I think it works. Of course, I still stand by the Death to the Playoffs. Home field become a major factor with this system, as if the season ended today, both Mississippi schools would get three home games, FSU and Notre Dame would each get two, and Marshall, Baylor, Auburn and MSU would all get one guaranteed. It adds incentive to do well in the regular season and creates a ton of buzz on those respective campuses.

Check COAS tomorrow for an analysis of the Week 8 schedule!