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ESPN’s FiveThirtyEight projects College Football Playoff odds for B1G teams

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

We’re at the halfway point of the 2017 season. There’s still a ton of football to be played but, of course, it’s time to start taking a serious look at the College Football Playoff picture.

ESPN’s FiveThirtyEight projected the odds for several B1G teams to reach the College Football Playoff at the end of the season. While a few teams still have a pretty high probability, one thing was noticeable: no team from the conference was in the top four.

That’s right, the B1G — who owns three of the top 10 spots in the Associated Press Poll — didn’t have any representation in the top four, at least right now.

Here were the four teams with the highest chance to reach the College Football Playoff

  • Alabama (65%)
  • Clemson (55%)
  • Washington (43%)
  • Georgia (34%)

Following those four spots, the B1G occupied the next three. But it wasn’t Penn State — currently ranked No. 3 nationally — who had the best odds to reach the Playoff from the conference:

  • Wisconsin (30%)
  • Ohio State (28%)
  • Penn State (28%)

Michigan and Michigan State were the only other two teams from the conference to get mentioned in the projections. The Wolverines were tabbed with a one percent chance to occupy one of the final four spots while the Spartans were one of several teams with odds under one percent.

Wisconsin does have the easiest schedule and doesn’t appear to have much trouble to winning another West Division title. The bout between the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions seems even larger, now.

These percentages change on a weekly basis, but if the season ended today, the B1G would be on the outside looking in.

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB