5 reasons Washington can still make the College Football Playoff

1. There’s a clear path to the conference championship

Despite the loss, the Huskies still control their own destiny all the way to the Pac-12 Championship Game. The same can’t be sad for a number of other playoff contenders, which could make all the difference in the final selection committee rankings.

The race for the Pac-12 North title is down to the Washington schools, as Stanford is eliminated with two conference losses. As long as the Huskies beat Arizona State, the Apple Cup will decide the Pac-12 North no matter what happens in the Washington State-Colorado game.

Should the Huskies win out and finish as a one-loss conference champion, it’s hard to find a scenario where they finish out of the top four based on the committee’s decisions in the past. Washington would likely have to be bumped by a two-loss team or one that didn’t win its own division.

Strangely enough, Michigan’s loss at Iowa also hurt arch-rival Ohio State’s chance of making the playoff. The Buckeyes lost the head-to-head tiebreaker with Penn State, which has just one conference loss and closes out the year with two of the worst teams in the Power Five.

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Louisville is in a similar position, as it needs Clemson to lose at Wake Forest to make the ACC title game. West Virginia could also finish second in the Big 12 with one loss even if it beats Oklahoma this weekend, as Oklahoma State owns that tiebreaker.

Washington is certainly going to be ranked behind Ohio State and Louisville on Tuesday. However, the Huskies would have a great shot to jump both if they were to win the Pac-12 Championship Game. In such a scenario, Washington would likely join Alabama, the Big Ten champion and Clemson in the College Football Playoff.