Week 6 standings and playoff projection

Even with the new four-team playoff replacing the BCS, the college football system still does not work.

Why? The current conference alignments serve TV dollars and greedy university administrators rather than the student-athletes they hypocritically claim as the top priority, and the fans are left at the mercy of the latest whim of these powers that be.

Under this system, colleges are stretched to all parts of the country just for conference play, and the so-called "mid-major" schools have virtually no shot at success in the diluted pool that was formerly known as Division I-A and I-AA.

The trend toward two-division super conferences also doesn't work, since it is impossible to produce a true conference champion as long as all conference members don't play each other every year. 

What the SEC and others have produced under this system would be more appropriately titled the "TV champion." These teams have played just enough conference members to call it a season and cash in on the TV title game, which is an exercise in excess.

There is no reason for any conference to have as many as 14 teams, other than the current fight for the top TV markets, of course. The big conferences have formed a monopoly with far-reaching geographical influence that hurts teams in and out of these big-money conglomerates.


Teams in red have qualified for the 16-team postseason playoff seeded below the standings. Teams in blue have qualified as the worst two teams in Division 1 and must play to see who is sent down to Division 2 for the following season. Teams are ranked in each division using the brilliant Massey comparison rankings.

Southwest
4-1  Oklahoma
5-0  Baylor
4-0  TCU
5-1  Texas A&M
4-1  Oklahoma State
2-3  Texas
2-3  Texas Tech
1-4  Texas-San Antonio
2-3  UTEP

Mid-South
5-0  Ole Miss
5-0  Mississippi State
4-1  Alabama
5-1  Louisville
4-2  LSU
3-2  Memphis
4-1  Kentucky
2-3  Tennessee
1-5  Vanderbilt

Southeast
5-0  Auburn
5-0  Florida State
4-1  Georgia 
5-0  Georgia Tech
3-1  Florida
3-2  Clemson
3-3  Miami
2-2  Central Florida
2-3  South Florida 

Great Lakes
5-0  Notre Dame
4-1  Michigan State
4-1  Ohio State
3-2  Northwestern
3-2  Indiana
2-2  Cincinnati
2-4  Michigan
3-3  Purdue
3-3  Illinois

Northwest
4-1  Oregon 
4-1  Utah
4-1  BYU
4-2  Boise State
4-1  Washington 
4-1  Oregon State
4-1  Air Force
2-4  Washington State
2-4  Colorado

West
4-1  UCLA
5-0  Arizona
4-1  Arizona State
3-2  USC
3-2  Stanford
4-1  California
3-3  Fresno State
2-3  San Diego State
1-4  Hawaii

Midwest
5-1  Nebraska
4-1  Kansas State
4-1  Missouri
3-2  Arkansas
4-1  Minnesota
3-2  Wisconsin
4-1  Iowa
1-4  Iowa State
2-3  Kansas

Atlantic
4-2  Virginia Tech
4-1  East Carolina
3-3  South Carolina 
4-2  Virginia 
4-2  Maryland 
4-1  Duke
4-2  North Carolina State   
2-3  North Carolina
2-4  Wake Forest

Northeast
4-1  Penn State
3-2  West Virginia
5-1  Rutgers
3-3  Pittsburgh
3-2  Boston College 
2-3  Syracuse
2-4  Navy
2-3  Army 
1-4  Connecticut

College football playoff projections...
16 Penn State at 1 Auburn
15 Virginia Tech at 2 Ole Miss
14 Nebraska at 3 Mississippi State
13 Michigan State at 4 Florida State
12 Oregon at 5 Alabama
11 UCLA at 6 Oklahoma
10 Texas A&M at 7 Baylor
9 Notre Dame at 8 TCU

Relegation playoff to be sent down to Division 2
Hawaii at Connecticut