This week, a lot of teams could either see their College Football Playoff résumé boosted or shattered as several ranked teams clash against each other in Week 5 of the season. The Oregon-Penn State game might have the most stakes as neither team can afford to lose. A loss would be more detrimental to Oregon with the Ducks having just two more ranked opponents the rest of the season.
As for Penn State, they have Ohio State and Indiana on their schedule, but the Ohio State game is probably their best shot to improve their CFP resume. That’s just one of the six matchups that have some CFP implications. The SEC’s slate will always feature big time matchups and important CFP games.
Here’s a look at the top matchups that have CFP implications and why each respective team needs a win to keep their CFP hopes alive.
No. 24 TCU Horned Frogs at Arizona State Sun Devils
Arizona State was upset by Mississippi State earlier this year and was bounced out of the AP top 25 poll because of it. Imagine if Arizona State beat TCU a week after the Horned Frogs landed into the most recent poll? It’s possible and it could be a solid win that gets the Sun Devils ranked again. As for TCU, well they are in the process of building their resume. Right now, the best thing they can do is win the games they’re supposed to. This is one of those games and if they lose, they might not return to the CFP this season.
No. 21 USC Trojans at No. 23 Illinois Fighting Illini
Illinois is fighting for its College Football Playoff life. After an embarrassing road loss as the No. 9 team last week to Indiana, they dropped all the way to No. 23 and if they want to get back into the CFP conversation. It’s a long shot, but a win over USC is a good start. As for the Trojans, well, they’re climbing in the rankings and looking every bit like one of the strongest teams in the Big Ten. This isn’t a résumé boosting win for them, rather a win to prove they’re as good as advertised.
No. 4 LSU Tigers at No. 13 Ole Miss Rebels
Ole Miss hasn’t played a strong team all year, so with their first real test, they can’t afford a loss. They’ll have some time to make up ground, but for a team like Ole Miss that has been their own worst enemy down the stretch of a season. LSU needs a resume-boosting win themselves after both Clemson and Florida have fizzled out already. Brian Kelly is known to collapse late in the season so he needs as many early season wins as possible, so a late season collapse doesn’t completely ruin their season. Garrett Nussmeier hasn’t looked as good as he was supposed to start the season, so this could be a confidence-boosting game.
Auburn Tigers at No. 9 Texas A&M Aggies
Auburn lost to Oklahoma and ended up getting kicked out of the AP top 25 poll, they’d instantly return with a road win over Texas A&M. Hugh Freeze is under a lot of scrutiny as his tenure with Auburn has been rough. This season, things have looked like they’ve turned around and a win over Texas A&M would solidify that. As for the Aggies, they need this win for a couple of reasons. For one, they can look like real contenders and two, Marcel Reed can solidify his Heisman campaign with a win.
Memphis Tigers at Florida Atlantic Owls
Memphis has one of the best chances as the Group of 5 team to get into the College Football Playoff. This game is on the list because Memphis can't afford to lose, they have to win every game this season and a conference title. They came up short last year with two bad losses to teams they should have beat. This season, Ryan Silverfield can't have bad losses again. This is a trap game for Memphis and with a win, maybe they'll creep into the rankings and start their road to the CFP.