10 teams who could make their first College Football Playoff in 2019

ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 08: The College Football Playoff National Championship Trophy during the College Football Playoff National Championship Game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Georgia Bulldogs on January 8, 2018 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by David Rosenblum/IconSportswire) /

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PALO ALTO, CA – OCTOBER 17: Stanford Cardinal head coach David Shaw after the college football game between the UCLA Bruins and the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium on October 17 in Palo Alto, CA. (Photo by Cody Glenn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

5. Stanford

Stanford is putting it all on the line this season. They have an incredibly hard schedule outside the Pac-12. They take on UCF in September, then rekindle an old rivalry with Notre Dame, who themselves made their College Football Playoff debuts last season. That matchup comes at the end of November. The Fighting Irish haven’t beaten Stanford on the road in the last five tries.

The end of season poll had Stanford just outside the top 25, but everything can change very quickly in college football. A post-spring top 25 from USA Today has them sitting at 18th in the nation, and if questions surrounding the offense persist then it could be a problem.

They are returning starting quarterback KJ Costello, but he’s really the only significant one of the four returning offensive starters. He’s going to have to shoulder much of the offensive loads. They lost Bryce Love at running back, JJ Arcega-Whiteside at wide receiver and Kaden Smith at tight end. That’s a lot to replace.

The Cardinal will need to live off their defense, which brings back almost their entire defensive line and secondary from last season. They have a few playmakers that can grow into something great, and with them playing one of the hardest out of conference schedules of the season, they’ll need to be great sooner rather than later. However, it could happen. With the Pac 12 wide open, they could win the division with one loss, and since they’d have great wins across the board, it could propel them to the Playoff.

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