Every week, I will play Selection Committee member, take a look at the College Football Playoff picture and offer my bracket: Forde’s Fab Four. Feel free to disagree.
Much will change in the coming weeks, but here is the way it stands after week one:
COTTON BOWL: No. 1 seed Ohio State vs. No. 4 seed TCU.
The defending champions strengthened their preseason hammerlock on the top spot – in the polls and in Forde’s Fab Four. Aside from a sloppy second quarter at Virginia Tech on Monday night – and the Hokies are not a bad team – the Buckeyes were downright breathtaking. When all front-line players are in uniform, they could be one of the most explosive teams in college football history. But here’s the interesting thing when it comes to the playoff: Ohio State figures to be the No. 1 seed until proven otherwise, and with a cupcake schedule it is almost guaranteed to be undefeated into late November. Geographic proximity puts the Buckeyes barely closer to Arlington, Texas, than Miami Gardens, Fla. – by less than 100 miles. Thus Ohio State’s closest playoff semifinal venue could also be its most contentious, if it meets up with a Texas team there. Which is exactly how I have the bracket right now.
My No. 4 team after week one is the Horned Frogs, demoted from preseason No. 2. Give them credit for taking on a good team from a power conference on the road – in this case Minnesota. But nudging past the Gophers by six points wasn’t impressive enough to hold on to the No. 2 spot. Heisman Trophy contender Trevone Boykin had a clunky 114.21 passer rating in that game, about 31 points below his season average last year. TCU didn’t produce any plays of 30 yards or longer – which, again, is partly a credit to a quality opponent, but also shows that the Frogs’ offense has some work to do.
Next for Ohio State: hosts Hawaii (1-0).
Next for TCU: hosts FCS Stephen F. Austin (0-1).
Continue Reading: Forde’s Fab Four: Ohio State is clear-cut No. 1 in first projected playoff field
