Everything Breaks Right: Path to College Football Playoff for each Top 10 team

A high preseason ranking doesn’t guarantee a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff, and the article points to last year’s results: half of the preseason top 10 missed the postseason, including No. 1 Texas, plus programs such as Penn State, Notre Dame, Clemson and LSU. It then outlines the key path and potential pitfalls for each of this year’s top 10 teams in the US LBM Coaches Poll. For No. 1 Ohio State, the schedule features Sept. 12 at No. 4 Texas, Oct. 17 at No. 6 Indiana and Nov. 7 vs. No. 2 Oregon, with trap concerns at Iowa (Oct. 3) and USC (Oct. 31). Similar “what needs to happen” scenarios and risk games are listed for the rest of the field.