Playoff Projection: Teams chase Mississippi State, Florida State

In the chase for the four College Football Playoff berths, two teams stand above the rest, according to the committee that votes each week in the Football Four Playoff Projection.

Mississippi State and Florida State remain No. 1 and 2 for the second consecutive week, accounting for 96.5% of the total points available to the top two teams. The Bulldogs and Seminoles made up the top two teams on 10 of the 13 voters' ballots.

The teams are difficult to separate. Panelist Tommy Bowden pointed out, for example, that the quality of Mississippi State's three best wins (Texas A&M, LSU and Auburn) is quite similar to those of Florida State (Oklahoma State, Clemson and Notre Dame). Mississippi State's voting point total of 71 ties for the second-most of any team in any week this season, while Florida State's 68 points ties for sixth.

In addition to Bowden, the 13-person Playoff Projection panel includes former FBS coaches Rich Brooks, Jim Grobe and Rick Neuheisel, former FBS athletic directors Bill Byrne and Jim Livengood, WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross and USA TODAY Sports college sports staff members Nicole Auerbach, Joe Fleming, Paul Myerberg, George Schroeder, Daniel Uthman and Dan Wolken.

The panel is modeled after the College Football Playoff selection committee to show what the Playoff pairings might be if they were to be set today. Each panelist enters a six-team ballot, with six points awarded for a No. 1 vote, five for a No. 2 and so on. The projection is purely a mock selection with no bearing on the Playoff selection committee's decisions.

Mississippi (56 points) and Oregon (26) are the No. 3 and 4 seeds this week. The Ducks moved back into the top four after two weeks outside of it.

Other teams receiving votes included Alabama (19 points), Auburn (10), Michigan State and Notre Dame (8 apiece), Ohio State (5) and TCU (2). Every team outside the top three has one loss on its record. The total of 10 teams receiving votes matches a season high from the panel one week after it voted for a season-low eight.

With last week's No. 4 seed Baylor falling out of the balloting, Florida State and Oregon are the only programs to receive votes in every week the committee has convened.

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