College Football Playoff: Nightmare scenarios the Big Ten should already be worried about

The Big Ten has both elite talent and depth this year. That's great! Unless it's not.

Heading into a hugely important they kind of all are, at this point) post-blood week slate of college football, the Big Ten, at the moment, would send three teams to the CFP playoff; Ohio State, Oregon and Penn State are all solidly in the field. But with over half the season remaining, a few military schools looking like real contenders and numerous surprise teams (hello, Indiana and Rutgers!) emerging from the Big Ten, there's a chance that with enough chaos, the Big Ten could be stuck with two playoff teams instead of the four (or five, if you want to get crazy) that fans of the conference are dreaming of.

The "other teams" in the conference are good... but not good enough

Cannibalism is not a joke, you know! It's a real possibility in the Big 10, which has six teams ranked in the AP Top 25 and a few more peering in from just outside. Heading into Week 7, Ohio State (No. 2), Oregon (No. 3) Penn State (No. 4), Indiana (No. 18), Illinois (No. 23) and Michigan (No. 24)

As it stands, Illinois, Michigan, Washington, Rutgers and Nebraska are hoping to play spoiler — and they might all be good enough to do so. The nightmare here is that these five teams beat each other up in matchups against each other and also grab one or two major upsets against the Big Ten's big guns. In that scenario, none of these five teams are likely to have strong enough resumes to get in the playoff field themselves but would also knock one of the Big Ten's top playoff hopefuls out of the CFP.

Illinois travels to Eugene on Oct. 26 to take on Oregon, Michigan still has Oregon, Indiana and Ohio State on its schedule. Washington plays Indiana, Penn State and ends its season against bitter rival Oregon. Three teams in the CFP playoff feel likely, and four feel possible if Indiana stays hot. But there is a world where Ohio State and either Oregon or Penn State earn bids but the rest of the conference eats itself and a non-Big Ten team takes advantage.

The "little guys" make things complicated

Speaking of those "non-Big Ten" teams, Boise State, Tulane, Washington State, and Army are hoping to create some madness in the CFP table this season. There's essentially zero chance they all get in, but Boise State is a near-lock if it wins out (including a win in the Mountain West Championship game.)

Washington State — which beat Washington — is benefitted by the Huskies winning some important Big Ten games. A conference champion Boise State plus an at-large big Washington State could spell trouble for the Big Ten, especially because Wazzu getting in would probably mean that Washington sprung an upset against either Indiana, Penn State or Oregon.

Best case scenario for the Big Ten conference

It's not time to panic for the Big Ten yet. Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State and Indiana can all afford a loss right now (or two, or perhaps even three) and remain solidly in the playoff picture.

The best-case scenario might be that Oregon beats Ohio State this weekend, then Ohio State wins the rest of its games (including beating Indiana and Penn State) then Indiana and Penn State both win out except for their respective Ohio State games. In that case, all four teams would be hard to leave out of the CFP.

Or, if Ohio State does beat Oregon, then it could almost definitely afford losses to both Indiana and Penn State and still earn a CFP berth. In that case, Indiana and Penn State could afford losses, and a potential Michigan late run could squeeze a fifth Big Ten team in the field, even with two losses.

Everybody take a deep breath. There are about a million scenarios still possible, and the SEC feels like it's bound for even more chaos, which could bode well for the Big Ten. But if the SEC's elite starts to separate itself and the conference sends a bunch of schools to the CFP, plus two of the "Cinderella" teams force their way in, the Big Ten could be left with fewer playoff representatives than it expects.