30 games that will eventually decide the 12-team College Football Playoff

Every year, a few games change the scope and brevity of the race towards the College Football Playoff. This year, one game already made a major impact, and these 30 others should give us a look into who will participate in the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff.

Michigan defensive lineman Kris Jenkins (94) celebrates a tackle against Ohio State. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

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20. Kansas vs. West Virginia: Sept. 21

Going right back to WVU, because a win versus Penn State in Morgantown will put them on everyone’s radar. The Mountaineers would immediately be ranked, and they might even break the top 20 of the AP poll. If that’s the case, then the hype train will be rolling in West Virginia and no couch is safe.

Yet, it doesn’t make them an automatic contender for the College Football Playoff. What it does do is show they can win the Big 12, which gives them an automatic bid. No team as currently constructed in the Big 12 is as good as Penn State on paper. Utah is the highest-ranked team in the Big 12, and they are four spots behind the Nittany Lions.

WVU will have to prove itself, and in the strangest way, this matchup with Kansas could be it. Kansas was long the laughing stock of Division I football, and it was a gimme win for all Big 12 teams. Now, they could win the conference. Last season, they rode an insane offense to big wins against the likes of Oklahoma, Iowa State, and Cincinnati.

It was clearly a year early for the Jayhawks, as they whittled under a tough schedule. This season, the schedule lightens up, but the offense won’t stop lighting teams up. This game might take us back to the old days of the Big 12, and the two teams could legitimately combine for 100 points. Or, they could have a defensive battle. This game could determine one of the members of the Big 12 title game, or it could be the best game of the year. Either way, we’re watching.

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