It's likely that in a 12-team playoff, there will be multiple teams with two losses, but those teams still have to look like a national title contender.
In Saturday's loss to Tennessee, Alabama did not.
The playoff picture changed from top to bottom in Week 8 after Tennessee and Georgia emerged as winners of the two biggest games of the weekend. They were also two of the biggest risers in the College Football Playoff race.
Here's the weekly prediction of what the committee's top 12 might look like if its ranking were released today.
Remember, this is NOT a projection of what it will look like on Selection Day. Rather, it's a snapshot of who's in the driver's seat now, based on what they have done to this point.
The 12-team playoff seeding will look different from this ranking as well. The top four highest-ranked conference champions receive byes, and the top five conference champions receive entry into the field.
Why they could be here: Oregon had a case for No. 1 last week after it beat Ohio State, and with Texas losing to Georgia on Saturday night, the door to the top spot was wide open for the Ducks. Oregon entered this week ranked No. 1 in ESPN's strength of record metric. Less than a week after a thrilling 32-31 win against Ohio State, Oregon gave Purdue no chance at an upset, earning its first road shutout since 1992. The Ducks aren't going to get any bonus points for beating a 1-6 Purdue team, but they showed the committee consistency on a short week and left no doubt they were the better team. That was also Dillon Gabriel's fourth game this season completing at least 80% of his passes — the most in the FBS.
Why they could be lower: The only reason Oregon would be lower is if the committee thinks Georgia is a
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