The College Football Playoff saw the same four at the top once again. However, these five programs aren’t dead yet.
The College Football Playoff Rankings are out again. It was pretty easy for the top four to be determined this week, as each of the teams residing there last week took care of business on the field.
Georgia, Alabama, Notre Dame and Clemson continue to lead what has been an impressive field of teams this year. However, they’re all going to keep being challenged as teams behind them in the rankings try to take their spot.
There will be one huge game this week for a playoff spot potentially. Notre Dame will travel and take on the Miami Hurricanes. Miami is currently undefeated on the season, but lack the signature win to push them into the top four.
With a win over the Fighting Irish, they would almost certainly make that leap or put themselves right on the edge. Elsewhere, the Big 12 still has two strong candidates with Oklahoma and TCU alive.
They will also square off as well this week. As for the Big Ten, they are down to just one option remaining on the season. Both Penn State and Ohio State have knocked themselves out of contention, leaving Wisconsin. Here are five teams that still aren’t dead just yet in the playoff race this season.
Wisconsin Badgers – No. 8
The Wisconsin Badgers’ only crime this season is that they play in a conference that has cannibalized itself. Yes, the Big Ten is going to offer no potential chances at signature victories for Wisconsin.
Even worse, they’re going to have to finish the season out undefeated and try and knock off the Big Ten East champ in the conference title game. If they can do that and finish with an undefeated record, they’ll have their shot.
They’re going to need the teams in front of them to give them some help however. What would be ideal for the Badgers is the two Big 12 schools knocking themselves right out of contention in the near future.
That would eliminate two other candidates off the bat while the Badgers try to get in. They’ll also need Notre Dame or Clemson to drop another game as well. Clemson might win out with their schedule ahead, but Notre Dame has some tough opponents waiting for them.
The road to the College Football Playoff for Wisconsin simply revolves around remaining undefeated. If they can do that, they’ll give the playoff committee the toughest argument possible for being in.
Oklahoma Sooners – No. 5
As the team right on the outside looking in, the Oklahoma Sooners have stockpiled a strong resume for getting into the College Football Playoff. Last week, they took care of business in a big way during Bedlam.
Defeating Oklahoma State in a classic battle of offenses effectively eliminated their rivals from contention. Now, for the second week in a row they will have a chance to remove another team that’s in their way.
The Sooners will take on TCU this week and the winner is going to see their playoff chances rise, while the loser will see theirs end. Picking up a win over TCU would further strengthen their resume and could be enough to push them in the next rankings.
The Big 12 is going to be tough to keep out if they have just a one-loss team in the mix and that could very well be Oklahoma. With wins over Ohio State and Oklahoma State, they have one of the best resumes in the country.
Add in a win over the Horned Frogs and that resume becomes almost impossible to turn away if they win out. While that all sounds great, it won’t matter if they end up falling to TCU this weekend either.
TCU Horned Frogs – No. 6
TCU and Oklahoma share the same destiny right now. In fact, the Big 12 leader will emerge when this week is all said and done. The Horned Frogs will have their chance to assume control of their destiny.
If they can knock off Oklahoma, then they will be the final chance the Big 12 has at making the College Football Playoff. It might not be enough to put them in right now, but it will put them at the edge so to speak.
Then from there, they can focus on winning out and hope that the teams ahead of them scuffle a bit so that they can get into the final four. Iowa State having a remarkable year has helped the sting of their lone loss.
Beating Oklahoma would give them the signature win that they need as well. Really, everything said about the Sooners also applies here. TCU just has to win out and hope for some losses ahead of them.
Washington Huskies – No. 9
The team that gets overlooked still in the playoff hunt is Washington. Yes, it’s easy to forget about the conference that seemingly plays their games after midnight while everyone else is doing the smart thing and sleeping.
Nonetheless, the Huskies are still very much alive in their pursuit of the College Football Playoff. There’s a chance they still might not get in even if they are able to win out and finish with just one loss as well.
However, teams ahead of them are going to fall and they just have to hope that enough of them do that it pushes their chances of making it in all that much closer to what they’re hoping for. With games against Washington State and Stanford coming up, they’ll have a chance to add two solid victories.
Then of course, they’ll need to take care of business in the conference championship game. That one loss to Arizona State really hurts them, but it’s not enough to officially end their chances of making it in this year.
The season feels more like a Rose Bowl-type year for them, but that isn’t the worst thing in the world either. Right now though, they need to just focus on one game at a time and let everything fall into place.
Miami Hurricanes – No. 7
The team with the best odds of making it in could very well be the Miami Hurricanes. After an impressive win over Virginia Tech, the Hurricanes are rolling and are playing their best football when they need to.
They know that to get into the College Football Playoff, going undefeated is their golden ticket to getting in. Right now, their best chance stands in front of them in the biggest college football game of the weekend.
In a once bitter rivalry renewed, the Hurricanes will host the Notre Dame Fighting Irish this week. These two schools have gone at it for years, but with a playoff spot on the line it makes everything that much greater.
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If Miami can knock off the No. 3 team in the country with an undefeated record in the process, they could very well vault themselves all the way into the next top four in the rankings. That’s the signature win they’re looking for.
Winning out and taking care of the conference would then be all that is needed for them to get in. This week is their chance and they know that a win would do incredible things for the program’s turnaround.