Which teams have the best chance to win the College Football Playoff?

I think the committee got it right.

The field for the first 12-team College Football Playoff is set and I think the committee got it right.

Sure, there’s been some…arguing from people from a specific region of the country, but the field is as it should be. There’s one three-loss team in the field and Clemson had to win a conference title game to get in. The committee over the last couple weeks has said it wouldn’t penalize teams that qualified for conference title games, and it stood on that.

Fans and some officials from the SEC are crying, making threats of canceling future non-conference games because the league only got three teams in the playoff. That argument has been lambasted since the losses that kept Alabama, South Carolina and Ole Miss out of the field came IN LEAGUE GAMES!

It was sad watching the greatest coach of all time, Nick Saban, on TV in his Crimson best talk about strength of schedule and how it should be a bigger factor in the selection process when Alabama lost to two 6-6 teams, including a late-season loss to a bad Oklahoma team that saw the Tide manage just three points.

All of that is in the rearview.

The first round starts Dec. 20-21, with three of the four games being played in cities with rock salt reserves for this time of year. I can’t wait.

Somebody has to win, though. Oddsmakers give the usual suspects the best chance to win the whole thing. No. 1 seed Oregon has the best odds at +325, followed by Georgia at +350, Texas at +375, Ohio State at +450 and Penn State at +700.

Is that accurate?

Let’s rank the playoff teams in order of best chance to have confetti rained down on them, to one-and-done.

1. Ohio State: despite their Michigan mental block, the Buckeyes still have the best roster of all the teams in the field.
2. Georgia: Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart has won two of the last three titles. I wouldn’t be shocked if he added to the list.
3. Oregon: The Ducks have been the most consistent team in the country all year.
4. Texas: The Horns have too much talent on both sides of the ball to be slotted any lower.
5. Notre Dame: If Riley Leonard can catch up to the Irish defense and run game, ND could be the last team standing.
6. Penn State: I don’t know why I put PSU here. James Franklin will probably lose to SMU.
7. Tennessee: The Vols’ prospects all hinge on the play of quarterback Nico Iamaleava.
8. Clemson: Outside of Smart, Tigers coach Dabo Swinney is the only coach in the country with a national title on his resume.
9. Boise State: Can running back Ashton Jeanty carry the Broncos to the national title?
10. Arizona State: The Sun Devils continue to be without leading wide receiver Jordyn Tyson. That puts more pressure on running back Cam Skattebo and quarterback Sam Leavitt to lead the ASU offense.
11. Indiana: The Hoosiers looked awful in their only big game of the season.
12. SMU: SMU this season lost to the best two teams it played in BYU and Clemson.

Playoff Superlatives
Breakout star
Jeremiah Smith, OSU WR

Player with most to gain
Quinn Ewers, Texas QB

Coach with most to gain
Rhett Lashlee, SMU

Coach with most to lose
Ryan Day, Ohio State