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Rich Brooks

Playoff Projection: After FSU, seeds tightly bunched

Daniel Uthman
USA TODAY Sports
Oklahoma running back Alex Ross (28) and the Sooners are the No. 3 seed in the latest Football Four Playoff Projection.

Rich Brooks, one of 13 members of the Football Four Playoff Projection panel, has a brief but apt summation of college football's Week 4:

"Some very shaken top ranked teams this week," said the former Oregon and Kentucky coach. "No one was dominant."

That led to the narrowest gap between the four playoff teams all season. Though the committee views Florida State as the No. 1 seed with its second highest vote total of 2014, only two voting points separate the remaining three seeds Alabama, Oklahoma and Oregon.

Oklahoma and Oregon actually tied with 53 voting points, but Oklahoma was awarded the better seed because the Sooners were ranked higher on seven of the 13 ballots. Panelist Tommy Bowden stuck with the Ducks as his top team, citing the biggest win on their résumé. "I'm big on strength of schedule, and we might see Michigan State in the final four," he said.

Each panelist submits six teams each week, ranked 1 through 6. Teams get 6 points for a No. 1 vote, 5 for a No. 2 vote, 4 for a No. 3 vote and so on.

This week's projected field is No. 1 Florida State (68 points), No. 2 Alabama (55), No. 3 Oklahoma (53) and No. 4 Oregon (53).

Oregon was the top seed in last week's projection with a season-high 70 voting points, but the Ducks played a tight game Saturday, winning 38-31 at Washington State. Florida State, meanwhile, needed overtime to beat Clemson 23-17 at home, but the Tigers are considered a stronger team. "If (Jimbo) Fisher can galvanize his team around (Jameis) Winston's child-like behavior, the 'Noles are still the team to beat," panelist Jim Ross said.

In addition to the four projected playoff seeds, Texas A&M (19 points), Auburn (17), Baylor (4), Mississippi State (3) and Michigan State (1) received votes.

The Playoff Projection's 13-person committee, modeled after the College Football Playoff selection committee, votes weekly to show what the Playoff pairings might be if they were to be set today. It is purely a mock selection with no bearing on the Playoff selection committee's decisions, but its panel draws on vast reserves of knowledge and experience.

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

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