6 games that will determine the College Football Playoff field
The College Football Playoff field is far from determined after 11 weeks but these games over the remaining two weeks will firmly set the stage.
Somehow, there are only two weeks left in the college football regular season. Perhaps that feels so surreal for the simple reason that, at this point, fans are accustomed to the idea of the College Football Playoff field already being decided. That is wholly not the case in 2021, however.
It’s not a stretch to say that there are some 8-10 teams that could still make it into the College Football Playoff. Subsequently, what happens over the final two weeks of the season could have a huge impact on what four teams are vying for a national championship. Specifically, there are a set of games that will go a long way in narrowing down the contenders.
Obviously, the conference championship games are going to have a say in the College Football Playoff as well. But before we get to that point, these are the six games that will help the committee pare down their list to the four most deserving teams.
Remaining games that will determine the College Football Playoff field
6. SMU Mustangs at Cincinnati Bearcats (Nov. 20, 3:30 p.m. ET)
When the committee put Cincinnati at No. 6 in the first CFP rankings of the year, it seemed as if all hope was lost for the Bearcats. And really, they should probably still be considered a long shot to make it into the proverbial final four of college football.
After Michigan State’s loss, though, Luke Fickell’s team is now at No. 5, just one spot away. If the chips fall just right, Cincinnati can get in. But for that to happen, they have to finish taking care of business in completing a perfect regular season. Their biggest hurdle to doing that is SMU visiting them in Week 12.
The Mustangs are an imperfect team, blessed with a prolific offense and subpar defense. Yet, that offense could cause problems. Cincinnati has been dangerously close to tripping up against far lesser teams than SMU, making this a must-watch matchup in the AAC.
5. Michigan State Spartans at Ohio State Buckeyes (Nov. 20, Noon ET)
Even though one of these teams, Michigan State, lost to Purdue and the other, Ohio State, blew out the Boilermakers, the fact of the matter is that the Spartans aren’t dead yet in the Big Ten East or the CFP race. If they could go on the road and beat Ohio State in Columbus — a place where their only loss of the season came already — then Mel Tucker’s team would be in the conference title game and the path to the playoff would be readily available.
The stakes are equally as high for the Buckeyes, though. With the loss to Oregon on their ledger already, Ohio State can’t afford another loss and they just so happen to finish their season with arguably their two toughest opponents that they’ll see in the regular season, Michigan State included. Based on how they’ve been coming together of late, they look primed to beat Sparty but, in this wild season, nothing should be taken for granted.