Welcome to Before The Snap, For The Win’s college football series where we’ll break down the sport’s trending storylines, examine each week’s biggest matchups and track the College Football Playoff and Heisman Trophy races.
It’s a new season of college football, and hopefully that comes with new kinds of chaos, unpredictability, jokes and memes.
Unfortunately, if you look at which teams have the best chances to make the College Football Playoff — even though it’s way, way too early — there’s nothing really new about them. According to ESPN’s Football Power Index, the four teams with the best playoff chances are Clemson, Alabama, Oklahoma and Ohio State — all teams that have made the playoff at least once in the last two years and perennial favorites to return.
Seeing the same two, three or four teams make the playoff every season is one of the many reasons why playoff expansion is a constant debate in the sport, and that’s fair. While these may often be the best teams, it’s tiring and boring. So we’re hoping for another team or two to jump out, shake things up and make the playoff race somewhat interesting and debatable.
But for now, here’s a look at the 10 teams with the best playoff chances in Week 1 as of Wednesday, according to ESPN’s FPI.
1. Clemson Tigers (0-0)
- Playoff: 77.8 percent
- National championship game: 46.3 percent
- Win championship: 26.1 percent
- First game: Saturday, Sept. 4 vs. Georgia (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
2. Alabama Crimson Tide (0-0)
- Playoff: 73.5 percent
- National championship game: 46.4 percent
- Win championship: 27.1 percent
- First game: Saturday, Sept. 4 vs. Miami (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
3. Oklahoma Sooners
- Playoff: 72.2 percent
- National championship game: 39.8 percent
- Win championship: 20.4 percent
- First game: Saturday, Sept. 4 vs. Tulane (Noon ET, ABC)
4. Ohio State Buckeyes (0-0)
- Playoff: 60.6 percent
- National championship game: 28.5 percent
- Win championship: 13.6 percent
- First game: Thursday, Sept. 2 vs. Minnesota (8 p.m. ET, FOX)
5. Georgia Bulldogs (0-0)
- Playoff: 28.5 percent
- National championship game: 12.1 percent
- Win championship: 4.6 percent
- First game: Saturday, Sept. 4 vs. Clemson (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
6. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (0-0)
- Playoff: 23.4 percent
- National championship game: 7.1 percent
- Win championship: 2.3 percent
- First game: Sunday, Sept. 5 vs. Florida State (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
7. Texas A&M Aggies (0-0)
- Playoff: 14.9 percent
- National championship game: 5.2 percent
- Win championship: 1.6 percent
- First game: Saturday, Sept. 4 vs. Kent State (8 p.m. ET, ESPNU)
8. Miami Hurricanes (0-0)
- Playoff: 9.4 percent
- National championship game: 3.3 percent
- Win championship: 1.0 percent
- First game: Saturday, Sept. 4 vs. Alabama (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC)
9. Iowa State Cyclones (0-0)
- Playoff: 8.4 percent
- National championship game: 2.8 percent
- Win championship: 0.8 percent
- First game: Saturday, Sept. 4 vs. Northern Iowa (4:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU/Big 12 Network)
10. Florida Gators (0-0)
- Playoff: 7.6 percent
- National championship game: 2.6 percent
- Win championship: 0.9 percent
- First game: Saturday, Sept. 4 vs. Florida Atlantic (7:30 p.m. ET, SEC Network)
