With less than two weeks before the 13-member College Football Playoff Selection Committee makes its first vote of the season, there appears to be about 15 teams that can call themselves a “Playoff contender.” But are they really? What if we, in a sentence or two, could find a reason to dispute that contender status?

The win-loss records might be the same, but that doesn’t mean they’re equal. Both LSU and Oklahoma have one loss, but think about which team looks more like a potential Playoff team. Nothing is off limits here from criticizing bad play, bad quarterbacks or bad schedules. With only four spots up for grabs, it’s survival of the fittest.

The Top 10

1. Alabama

The Crimson Tide really haven’t played anyone of note yet, but does it matter? When you’ve won as many titles as Alabama has this decade you get the benefit of the doubt and you’ve earned it.

2. Ohio State

The road wins against TCU and Penn State aren’t as impressive as they looked at the time. The defense won’t be the same without Nick Bosa, but the Buckeyes’ staff can now focus on the rest of the season without wondering if he is going to return.

3. Clemson

The ACC is G5 levels of weak so “Clemsoning” will not be accepted this year, not even against undefeated N.C. State.

4. Notre Dame

The schedule was incredibly front-loaded and the Irish handled it well, so there isn’t much to poke a hole in yet. That being said, you know between Navy, FSU, Syracuse and USC an upset is coming. Just wait. And all it will probably take is one loss.

5. LSU

Sadly the Tigers can’t afford any losses despite playing Miami, Florida, Auburn and Georgia thus far. And they still have to play Alabama while avoiding trap games against Mississippi State and Texas A&M. If LSU can somehow get through that then it gets the SEC East champion … maybe this Playoff needs to be expanded because this team is a case of being too good to have two losses on a ridiculously hard schedule being held against them.

6. Michigan

The Notre Dame loss doesn’t look bad in hindsight, but the Wolverines don’t have a signature win, either. Sure it blasted Wisconsin in the Big House, but the Badgers already had lost to BYU at home. BYU is 4-3, hardly a heavyweight. Michigan has to prove it can keep up the pace going into the final stretch. Michigan is 2-8 in its past 10 games against Michigan State and has lost 6 in a row against Ohio State.

7. Texas

Upsetting Oklahoma was nice, but that Maryland loss is just hard to escape. Hard to imagine a national championship contender losing to Maryland. The Big 12 is pretty weak, not ACC levels of weak but still pretty weak. The Longhorns only face one more ranked team — No. 13 West Virginia — in the regular season.

8. Georgia

The Bulldogs hadn’t looked impressive for most of the season against weak competition and they got sunk in Death Valley. Georgia should be better and it has an off week to get things together before a tougher-than-expected date with Florida in Jacksonville. That’s the second of three consecutive games against teams ranked in the top 15. If they survive that and win the East, they’ll return to the SEC Championship Game. Bottom line: The Dawgs have the opportunity to overcome their one loss. Whether they can is another matter entirely.

9. Oklahoma

The Sooners might win their final six but does anyone really think they are a Playoff-caliber team? Not me, especially after giving up 129 points in their past four games. Firing Mike Stoops is fine, but he wasn’t the one our there missing tackles and getting pushed around up front. The Big 12 champion has been left out of the Playoff twice in the four years it has existed.

10. UCF

Well the Knights’ strength of schedule has improved from 128th to 122nd, which is still embarrassingly bad. The “We want Bama” thing is cute, but I’d take UCF playing a top Alabama high school team over their current joke of a schedule. UCF and USF both struggled last week, both beating inferior AAC teams by 1 point. UCF needs USF (and Cincinnati) playing at a high level and staying ranked ahead of those late-season showdowns.

Best of the Rest

11. Florida

Good news: The SEC champion is making the Playoff. Bad news: That won’t be Florida. With Feleipe Franks at QB, two more losses are coming … and you know it Gators fans.

12. Oregon

In all honesty the Ducks might be a little underrated, but they blew a game against Stanford at home and they have to take responsibility for it. The Pac-12, much like the Big 12, isn’t a Playoff lock. Its champion also has missed the Playoff twice in four years.

16. N.C. State

Beat Clemson and the Wolfpack might be interesting. But they won’t beat Clemson. There’s nothing else to the schedule. Hurricane Florence wiped out a resume-builder against West Virginia.

20. Cincinnati

The Bearcats are undefeated, but their strength of schedule is 118th.

21. USF

The Bulls also are undefeated, but their strength of schedule is 115th.