Who in the College Football Playoff Rankings benefits from Miami’s loss?

The Miami Hurricanes and their turnover chain suffered their first loss of the season on Friday. Who does that loss benefit, though?

The College Football Playoff is rapidly approaching, and with this being the last week before conference championship matchups, rivalry week means a lot. Teams like Wisconsin, Auburn and Georgia that are on the outside looking in might need some help getting in.

The Miami Hurricanes were handed their first loss of the season in Pittsburgh, and their playoff hopes took a hit. Georgia, Auburn and Wisconsin ultimately control their own destiny. Miami losing, though, definitely helps them. For Clemson and Ohio State, they have to be the ones that stand to benefit the most from Miami’s loss on Friday.

Ohio State is a two-loss team, and logically, two-loss teams don’t really have that much of a chance to get into the playoffs. Things could change with the Buckeyes. They have one “good” loss at the hands of Oklahoma, but they were also destroyed in Iowa. The committee has proven to us that you are in fact allowed to lose and still make the playoff, though.

Ohio State has a thrilling victory against Penn State and another victory against Michigan State already on their resume. Add in possible victories against Michigan and presumably undefeated Wisconsin, and that’s four solid wins. That would be tough for the committee to ignore.

As for Clemson, Miami’s loss provided them with some wiggle room. Clemson does have a tough matchup against 24th-ranked South Carolina on Saturday, so that could add a solid victory to their resume. After that, it’s the ACC title game against the aforementioned Hurricanes. Regardless of Miami’s absolute manhandling of Notre Dame, Clemson would still have better wins on its resume.

Next: Projected playoff rankings after Miami loss

So long as Clemson doesn’t get run off the field against Miami, the Hurricanes losing to a 5-7 Pitt team on the road gives the committee a reason to take Clemson over Miami.

As for everybody else in the hunt, their job is simple. Win and you’re in. Miami losing, though, could create an extra spot that wouldn’t have otherwise been there. The winner of the SEC is going to be in along with Oklahoma so long as they don’t lose between now and when the final polls come out.

If Wisconsin were to lose the Big Ten title game to Ohio State, they could still earn a spot in the playoff, even with one loss. This is definitely the madness we’ve all been preparing for, for weeks now. The easiest way in is to just win, but of course, it’s never that simple.