Everybody starts the season undefeated. But the cruel reality of college football is that only a handful of those teams have a legitimate chance of winning the 2017 College Football Playoff.
Last year the Ohio State Buckeyes became the first team to land a spot in the CFP without winning a conference title. They likely won't have to worry about vaulting that hurdle this season, however, as the Buckeyes are so stacked with talented players that they are the overwhelming Big Ten favorite and a near lock to earn a CFP berth again.
(Note: Unless otherwise specified, all of the metrics detailed below are from Power 5 contests, and the associated team and player rankings are from the 65 Power 5 teams.)