College Football Playoff Ranking Predictions Ahead of Week 5

Week 4 of the college football season has come and gone, and with it another batch of pretenders were exposed in front of the entire country. The race for any one of the four playoff spots is heating up by the week, and these four teams have clearly distanced themselves from the rest of the pack, and will get a crack at the game's ultimate prize.

Clemson

Trevor Lawrence and the Tigers have been rolling along in their title defense season, having decimated hapless Charlotte after winning two conference games against Georgia Tech and Syracuse mixed in with a takedown of Texas A&M at home.

The ACC is looking pretty toothless this year with Florida State and Miami struggling, so the Tigers could coast to another unblemished mark and playoff appearance.

Alabama

Tua Tagovailoa had no trouble dispatching Southern Miss, as Bama's Heisman-hopeful quarterback tossed five touchdowns to his stable of future NFL receivers. Games against Bo Nix and Auburn as well as Joe Burrow and LSU in Tuscaloosa could ultimately determine if Nick Saban's crew are playoff material.

Given how they've blown by just about everyone with Tua as their quarterback, there is no reason to believe that Tagovailoa and that elite offense will not run the table.

Georgia

Jake Fromm and the Bulldogs welcomed the seventh best team in the country to Sanford Stadium, and proceeded to hit them in the mouth and pull out a late win. If they can prevail in the Florida game, their chances of making the playoff are almost assured provided that they win out. Even a loss to Alabama in the SEC Championship wouldn't eliminate them.

With Fromm and D'Andre Swift guiding one of the most efficient offenses in the country, betting against them isn't a wise move.

Oklahoma

Surprise! LSU might be ranked No. 4, but Joe Burrow and the Tigers have to go to Tuscaloosa to play Alabama this year. If they lose that game, they won't win the SEC West, and the playoff committee has been known to get stingy about things like that.

Instead, Jalen Hurts and Oklahoma's explosive offense take the final spot, as they are currently favorites to win out and take the Big 12 title. The likes of Ohio State, Florida, and Auburn will have to remain on the outside looking in as Lincoln Riley and the Sooners take an unblemished record into the playoff for the second consecutive year.