September gave us a glimpse into the College Football Playoff picture. October is about to shake it up. For several contenders, the next five weeks bring a schedule that leaves little room to catch their breath.
Ranked opponents and road trips in conference with playoff implications are stacked together across the SEC and Big Ten. Those results bleed into the CFP selection committee's initial rankings reveal on Nov. 3, the first of five sets of rankings prior to selection day on Dec. 6. A squad that looks like a playoff lock today could be fighting to stay in the conversation by Halloween, given the upcoming slate.
Here are college football's 10 toughest October schedules, along with the playoff stakes attached to each. Number of ranked opponents: 4The slate: at No. 17 Tennessee, at No. 2 Georgia, vs. No. 11 LSU, at No. 9 Ole Miss By no means are we calling Alex Golesh's squad a CFP threat after splitting their first two SEC games.
However, what the Tigers are about to endure over the next four weeks and change will undoubtedly put them in the national spotlight if they're able to post at least three wins in four matchups against nationally ranked teams. No other program nationally faces off with four top-25 opponents in October. This is why Golesh left South Florida and returned to the SEC, right?
Number of ranked opponents: 3The slate: at No. 25 Missouri, vs. South Carolina, at No. 1 Texas, vs. No. 2 Georgia (Atlanta) From unranked to No. 8 after the first third of the regular season, the Gators are hungry.
A chance at a second top-25 win comes this weekend on the road before they'll take on the nation's top two teams later on. The magic number for any SEC team to reach the CFP, in our eyes, is 10 wins this season. The CFP selection committee's introduction of the strength-of-conference metric as another data point will benefit teams like the Gators down the road.
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