Group of Five hopefuls
It’ll take something miraculous to happen to get within sniffing distance, and yes, this means you too, you program in Orlando who likes to create banners.
The only possible way it works for any one of these programs is to go unbeaten, be dominant doing it, and hope for chaos among the Power Five championship games.
There can’t be four other options from the Power Five leagues.
Ranking the Group of Five programs still alive from no shot to so-you’re-saying-there’s-a-chance …
11. UAB
There’s no shot. The Blazers have one game against a Power Five program, and beating Tennessee – even in Knoxville – has been done already.
10. Appalachian State
It would be nice if the Mountaineers can win at North Carolina next week and home the Tar Heels go off the rest of the way, but there’s a hard ceiling with the Sun Belt schedule.
9. SMU
Winning at TCU next week would help the cause, and going to Houston, Memphis and Navy would be resumé-builders, but it still wouldn’t be enough.
8. Wyoming
The Missouri win is the calling card, but beat San Diego State and Boise Stat eon the road, and then this could get interesting.
7. Air Force
Beating Colorado was good, taking out Boise State on the road with everyone watching this Friday would be great. With Utah State, Fresno State and Army to play, the slate has some pop.
6. San Diego State
It stinks or the Aztecs that the UCLA win is meaningless. There’s nothing else on the schedule to perk up the committee’s ears.
5. Memphis
Beating Ole Miss in a 15-10 uggo game isn’t enough. Beating Houston on the road would be good, and taking out Temple and Cincinnati would be great, but this only works if the Tigers are 12-0 and beat a 12-0 UCF in the American Athletic Conference title game.
4. Boise State
The program has the street cred, but would a win over Florida State be enough? No … the Broncos have to obliterate everyone in their path.
3. Navy
The Midshipmen a trip to Notre Dame. Win that, beat Army, beat Houston on the road and take down Air Force, and then win the AAC title … then let’s talk.
2. Temple
The win over Maryland was a great start. With Georgia Tech and UCF combining to Philly, and with Memphis and Cincinnati on the slate, going 13-0 would get the Owls in the room for a discussion. But … no. The only real hope is …
1. UCF
Here’s the issue … Stanford sort of stinks, and so does Pitt. So even if UCF goes 13-0, no one’s going to the wall because of wins over those two Group of Fivers. However, if the program rolls through another season unbeaten – including road wins over Cincinnati, Temple and Tulane – and there are a few conference championship upsets, it’ll get interesting.
– Finished. It’s over. The College Football Playoff dream is kaput
– The one-loss teams that technically still have a shot
– The one-loss teams that actually have a shot
– The unbeaten College Football Playoff contenders
