How Houston crashes College Football Playoff
Houston took down No. 3 Oklahoma on Saturday, so how can they advance to the College Football Playoff?
The first weekend of the college football season had been deemed the “best opening weekend ever”. Numerous top teams were in action, including a couple of games featuring prominently ranked teams. One of those featured No. 15 Houston facing No. 3 Oklahoma in NRG Stadium.
Houston vs Oklahoma, despite being a Week 1 game, could have been argued as a “must-win” for both teams, all due to College Football Playoff positioning and strength of schedule. With the Cougars winning on Saturday, they earned an advantage, one that’s greater than if the Sooners won.
Houston faced their toughest opponent of the season, and defeated them somewhat handily. So now they can focus on the rest of their schedule, which is about as soft as it gets for any top team in college football. The only ranked team they face is No. 19 Louisville, and that’s not until November 17. Others include Lamar, Cincinnati, Texas State, and Tulane, some of which are in the American Athletic Conference. If Houston can run the table, they have a chance at crashing the College Football Playoff.
Getting in via the AAC isn’t an easy task, though, given that this group of teams is below the Power Five conferences of the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12, and SEC. Schools like Alabama and Clemson are going to hang around until the end, and may be shoe-ins for the CFP, barring a loss or injuries to marquee players. That leaves two spots, both of which are for the taking, from the opening weekend’s AP Top 25.
No. 9 Tennessee barely squeaked by Appalachian State in their opener. The Vols didn’t lead until overtime, when they won 20-13. It wouldn’t be surprising to see them slide out of the top 10. No. 8 Stanford had some issues against Kansas State, as well. Oklahoma showed defensive issues and problems with the offensive line on Saturday. Plus, running back Joe Mixon may have been injured during the game.
The Ohio State Buckeyes, ranked No. 6, may be as vulnerable as any of the top ranked teams. They lost 16 starters to graduation or the 2016 NFL Draft, so they’re full of inexperience. While they still have J.T. Barrett at quarterback and rolled over Bowling Green, OSU is far from a finished product. Facing Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Michigan State may warrant a loss or two, too, especially going against the experience of some of those teams.
The hurdles will be getting by No. 3 Florida State and No. 5 LSU. Their stout running games, led by Dalvin Cook and Leonard Fournette, respectively, are elite and difficult to stop. FSU’s defense is full of experience, too. LSU may be the weaker of the two with their defensive problems, which could carry over from 2015’s struggles, and be an issue against some of the SEC’s best.
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While Houston has a dynamic offense with Greg Ward Jr. and may run the table, they need the dominoes to fall in place. The elite Power Five schools have to falter. Given how vulnerable some of them are, it’s possible to happen. If they do go down, the Cougars have a chance at crashing the College Football Playoff. They cannot lose the rest of the way, though.