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ESPN experts update College Football Playoff picks after Week 9
By Andrew Olson
Published:
The College Football Playoff race is heating up entering the final month of the 2023 regular season. As we look ahead to Week 10, ESPN’s experts predicted their CFP fields following Saturday’s action.
Georgia is once again on all 15 ballots. The Bulldogs had one of the most impressive wins of Week 9, blowing out rival Florida in Jacksonville. Kirby Smart’s squad is gearing up for a 3-game stretch against ranked opponents (Mizzou, Ole Miss and Tennessee).
UGA has company as a unanimous pick. Florida State also made 100% of the ballots after Week 9. The Seminoles improved to 8-0 with a 41-16 road win over Wake Forest. FSU’s November slate of FBS games against Pittsburgh, Miami and Florida isn’t looking particularly challenging over the final 4 weeks.
ESPN’s experts see Michigan as the next team most likely to join Georgia and Florida State. The Wolverines made 13-of-15 ballots after Week 9. U-M was on its bye week.
Washington and Ohio State are the other 2 teams on the ESPN experts’ Playoff radar. After Week 9, the Huskies picked up 9-of-15 votes after beating Stanford to improve to 8-0. OSU, meanwhile, is on 8-of-15 ballots after defeating Wisconsin to remain undefeated.
This is the last week the ESPN experts will make their CFP picks without the selection committee’s rankings. The first Playoff top 25 of the season will be released Tuesday.
Here are the full ballots:
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
