The College Football Playoff Selection Committee attempted to do some self-correction from an asinine initial rankings, but it seems to have only made things worse. The SEC apparently is insulated from consequence, and the 2023 Florida State injury precedent is dragging Miami and Ohio State down like rocks.
That being said, the committee did prop up a handful of teams sitting on the bubble. They've essentially been handed an invitation to join the 12-team field, but only if they take care of business the rest of the season. Otherwise, teams ranked 1-11 are more than likely going to be the Power Conference participants come December.
No. 12 Texas Tech Red Raiders
Their last major test in the regular season will be No. 25 Oklahoma State on Saturday. Survive there — and look good doing it — and Texas Tech should cruise to the Big 12 title game in Dallas. The Red Raiders would likely face BYU and, if the committee's precedent of not punishing teams for reaching a conference championship game holds true, even a second loss shouldn't keep them from being the 11-seed in the bracket.
Texas Tech's lone blemish on the year was a 13-point loss to unranked Cincinnati on the road. Its resume contains two ranked wins and could have a third by the end of the regular season. The committee likes to look down on the Big 12, but there's no way a two or three-loss SEC team that doesn't reach the league title game deserves a spot more. That's why Texas Tech sits at No. 12 now. The committee is challenging the Big 12 to prove its finalists can earn berths.
No. 13 Wake Forest Demon Deacons
The ACC is always late to the party, even if there's a clear-cut leader for most of the season. The Miami Hurricanes dropped from No. 1 overall to No. 7 after losing to No. 11 Notre Dame in Week 10 — without star wideout Malachi Toney. Head coach Mario Cristobal's boys are getting a taste of what cross-state rival Florida State had to endure when QB Jordan Travis was out for the season in late 2023. This opens the door for Wake Forest to seize the day and potentially the conference's only bid into the playoff.
The Demon Deacons have three very winnable games left on the schedule but only one ranked win on their resume. It would've been helpful had SMU (Wake Forest's Week 11 opponent) remained in the Top 25, but now it's clearer than ever that it will have to just win out to reach the postseason bracket. Going 3-0 over the final stretch would set up a likely rematch with Miami in the ACC title game. Wake Forest fell 33-20 to the Hurricanes early in the season but with Toney set to sit out until a potential playoff contest, Miami's place in the bracket isn't concrete even if it makes the conference championship. Win and get in, Demon Deacons.
No. 17 South Carolina Gamecocks
Beat Georgia. That's it. That's the path. It isn't easy, but it's clear enough. South Carolina isn't a bubble team by the normal definition, but considering how much the Selection Committee is favoring the SEC, it's entirely plausible that upsetting the No. 1 team in the nation will give the Gamecocks a berth over a different conference runner up. Of course, that's all contingent on head coach Shane Beamer's team taking care of business against Arkansas and Clemson too.
The Nov. 21 bout with the Bulldogs in Columbia should be circled on everyone's calendar. That's a one-way elimination game in which the bubble will get considerably smaller should South Carolina come up short. The only reason the Gamecocks are placed at No. 17 is because their chances of pulling the upset are slim but all the other teams ahead of them — Oregon, Iowa and Houston — need help from others on top of winning out to get into the bracket. South Carolina still sits in the driver's seat with three losses, incredibly.
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