Predictions for the 2024 College Football Playoff: The defeats in Alabama and Tennessee cause a stir

Hello and welcome to my weekly College Football Playoff roundup. I will update every week based on new results. They are based solely on my opinion and will likely differ from Austin Mock's much smarter, science-based predictions. Also, check out David Ubben's Bubble Watch every Monday.

Five teams in the top 11 of the AP Poll were eliminated on Saturday, prompting serious scrutiny of my rankings. But I tried not to overreact to Alabama's 40-35 loss at Vanderbilt or Tennessee's 19-14 loss at Arkansas.

I still see the Tide and Vols moving in, even though Tennessee will beat Alabama in two weeks and the Tide will creep toward the bottom of the overall pecking order (this scenario assumes an SEC title game between Texas and Georgia).

I've considered transferring to Texas A&M, but I'd like to see more than a great performance against Missouri.

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I considered naming Clemson the ACC champion after Miami's back-to-back close calls, but the Tigers' four-game winning streak came against weak competition. I'll hold back for now.

One team I'm done with is USC after the 24-17 loss at Minnesota, which was the Trojans' second loss. Taking their place is Notre Dame, and the toughest game remaining could be Thanksgiving weekend at USC. The Irish, downgraded after their home loss to Northern Illinois in Week 2, are back in the bigger picture, although I was tempted to pick Indiana.

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Finally, Boise State is now my Group of 5 team, not so much because UNLV lost in overtime at home to Syracuse, but because Ashton Jeanty and the Broncos look like a machine. But they may have to beat the Rebels twice.

(Photos of Josh Heupel (left) and Kalen DeBoer: Steve Roberts, Nelson Chenault / Imagn Images)