In SEC land, any 1 of 5 teams still harbors legit national championship dreams.

Everywhere else, those dreams are turning into nightmares, complete with the cold sweats.

The latest example is Wisconsin.

Yes, the Badgers still have a statistically impressive defense, leading the nation in 7 categories. But that stink bomb of a loss to Illinois on Saturday is going to linger.

Actually, check that — it can’t linger because Wisconsin faces undefeated Ohio State this Saturday in Columbus. One of two things will happen: Either the Badgers will knock off the Buckeyes and probably leap right back into the Top 10 and back into College Football Playoff contention, or Wisconsin will lose and be completely forgotten until the Citrus Bowl folks start looking to fill their Big Ten slot.

Such is life in the Big Ten, a league that lacks a signature nonconference victory in 2019. B1G teams don’t have as much leeway as SEC teams, especially teams in the B1G West, which is decidedly the weaker of the league’s two divisions. Wisconsin’s best win is against Michigan, and that looks even less impressive after the Wolverines took their 2nd loss this season on Saturday at Penn State.

So for now Wisconsin drops out of our list of CFP contenders, with the caveat that the Badgers could return with a win at OSU on Saturday. The real question: Considering the fact that the league was omitted from the Playoff the past 2 years, and with Clemson and Oklahoma looking very likely to go undefeated (plus maybe the LSU-Alabama winner), how much hope can any 1-loss B1G team harbor?

Meanwhile, back in the SEC, Alabama remained undefeated despite losing Tua Tagovailoa, who will miss at least one game after having surgery Sunday morning to repair a high ankle sprain. The Crimson Tide gets to feast on Arkansas this week behind backup QB Mac Jones, while LSU and Auburn square off in a meeting of CFP contenders. LSU would stay in the hunt even with a loss whereas a 2nd defeat for Auburn would basically mean curtains.

Here is our weekly look at the CFP contenders, broken down by groups. They will be listed in order of the newest Associated Press poll until the first CFP rankings come out.

Prime-time players

Alabama

The only question for the Crimson Tide this week is not the impending Arkansas game, in which Alabama can name the score. It’s the health of Tagovailoa heading into the massive game Nov. 9 against LSU at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The loser of that game will very much remain in the hunt for a CFP slot — unless perhaps LSU loses to Auburn and Bama back-to-back because the Tigers won’t have enough good teams on their remaining schedule to make up for consecutive losses so late in the season.

LSU

Joe Burrow just keeps setting records and giving defensive coordinators fits. The latest dominant display came in Starkville, the site of LSU’s nightmare in 2017. This year’s romp over the Bulldogs showed that these Tigers don’t much care for the past, either in their failures from previous years or in the plodding offenses that used to play their trade in Baton Rouge before Burrow and Co. came around. But again, LSU must get at least a split against Auburn and Bama.

Ohio State

An unusual Friday night game produced the usual result for OSU: Another blowout victory. The Buckeyes rolled past Northwestern on the road in a game that was nowhere near as close as the Wildcats got to beating the scarlet and gray in last year’s Big Ten title game. Wisconsin’s shocking loss to Illinois knocks some of the shine off of this week’s Buckeyes-Badgers matchup. OSU is the only team in the nation to rank in the top 5 in total offense (No. 5) and total defense (No. 2).

Clemson

It is now 22 wins in a row for Clemson after the Tigers proved yet again that nobody in the ACC is even in their area code in terms of talent. Louisville came into Saturday on a modest 2-game conference winning streak but Clemson’s balanced offense and nasty defense quickly ended the Cardinals’ dreams of an upset. Clemson is No. 5 in the country in total defense and showed why, allowing just 263 yards. And despite all the fretting about Trevor Lawrence, the Tigers are No. 10 in total offense.

Oklahoma

The Sooners cruised past West Virginia and seem to be about as unassailable in the Big 12 as Clemson is in the ACC. Baylor remained undefeated on Saturday and the Bears are close to joining the bottom of this list, but do the Bears have the talent to match up with Oklahoma? Jalen Hurts is putting up video game type numbers and the Sooners actually play defense (ranked 28th) now. Sooner Schooner wrecks aside, there seems to be little in the Big 12 to stand in Oklahoma’s way.

Penn State

As a traditional Big Ten power that has won its first 7 games, the Nittany Lions have barged their way onto the “prime-time players” list. But PSU, though talented, poses one critical question for the CFP committee: Do we think this team would defeat any of the teams ahead of it? The Nittany Lions will get their chance Nov. 23 at Ohio State, but we continue to have doubts until then. PSU’s offense ranks 40th in the country — all 5 teams above the Nittany Lions have top 10 offenses.

Knocking at the door

Florida

The Gators struggled for a while but wound up bouncing back from the previous week’s loss at LSU with a comeback victory at South Carolina. They rose to No. 7 in the AP poll with a defense that can compete with pretty much anybody. Can Kyle Trask keep the offense moving?

Notre Dame

A week off before their game at Michigan this Saturday gave the Fighting Irish time to rest heading into a closing stretch when they will play 6 consecutive weeks to close the season. If Notre Dame wins this Saturday, its chances to make a New Year’s Day 6 bowl are extremely good.

Auburn

Ah, a matchup against Arkansas. Good for what ails you. The Tigers got over their loss to Florida by routing the Razorbacks and now have a chance to really make an impression this Saturday against LSU. Auburn is still just 103rd nationally in passing offense, a tough thing to overcome against LSU and Bama.

Georgia

Like archrival Florida, the Dawgs won ugly on Saturday, topping Kentucky 21-0 in a driving rainstorm. Now Georgia gets a bye week to prepare for the Gators in what will be the de facto SEC East Division title game. The loser is almost certainly toast, with 2 losses in the SEC’s weaker division.

On the fringes

Oregon

A tight tussle in an underrated rivalry game saw the Ducks win at Washington to truly take command in the Pac-12 North Division. How will the CFP committee regard Oregon and fellow Pac-12 title hopeful Utah (see next entry)? If history is any guide, either one needs a lot of help to make the CFP.

Utah

The Utes knocked off No. 17 Arizona State 21-3, taking the lead at 3-1 in the Pac-12 South. It seems that Oregon and Utah, who do not meet in the regular season, are on a collision course for the conference title game. It’s not likely to interest the CFP committee, but you never know.

Dropped out: Wisconsin