Big XII eliminated from playoff picture
BYU-Boise State & Clemson-Notre Dame critical matchups this weekend

Another obstacle to BYU appearing in the College Football Playoff fell this past weekend when Texas upset undefeated Oklahoma State to effectively eliminate the Big XII from the playoff race.

If the college football elite (Alabama, Clemson, and Ohio State) do their jobs by winning out, BYU only faces three major hurdles to landing a playoff bid.

• Unbeaten Pac-12 Champ (best shot – Oregon).
• Cincinnati knocked off Memphis and could ride a better strength of schedule to sneak in ahead of BYU.
• Wild-card – a one-loss Texas A&M; if the Aggies go 9-1.

On Monday night, BYU football reporter Jay Drew of the Deseret News joined my co-host Robert Parker and I on the American Football Stories podcast to discuss the impact of independence on the BYU football program, how head coach Kalani Sitake built the 2020 Cougars, and Jay’s thoughts on BYU’s Friday night clash with Boise State and whether the Cougars can snag a spot in the playoffs.

SEC

Contender(s): Alabama

Perfect run needed: Georgia, Florida, and Texas A&M

Eliminated: Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Auburn, Arkansas, LSU, Mississippi State, and Ole Miss

Florida and Georgia will duke it out in Jacksonville for SEC East superiority. As usual, loser goes home. Both teams’ playoff hopes are contingent on winning out and beating Alabama in the SEC title game.

Texas A&M is riding their head-to-head win over the Gators into playoff contention despite not being remotely competitive with Alabama. The Aggies face a manageable stretch of South Carolina, Tennessee, Ole Miss, LSU, and Auburn. They should be favored in each of those games, but something tells me they’ll trip up along the way and finish 8-2.

ACC

Contender(s):  Clemson, Notre Dame

Perfect run needed: Miami

Eliminated:  North Carolina, NC State, Virginia Tech, Boston College, Wake Forest, Pittsburgh, Louisville, Florida State, Virginia, Syracuse, and Duke

North Carolina bites the dust after a loss on the road to Virginia. The Heels were a long shot candidate anyway, but I thought Mack Brown’s second team had a good chance to sneak into the ACC championship game. Lack of defense did them in.

Clemson travels to South Bend this weekend without Trevor Lawrence. That may be the storyline, but the Tigers’ first half struggle against Boston College fell more on the defense than Lawrence apprentice, D.J. Uiagalelei.

Clemson kicked into gear in the second half to avoid the upset, however, they’ll need to play a more complete game against the Fighting Irish. If Notre Dame is going to pull off their first win over a No. 1ranked team since their 1993 win over Charlie Ward and Florida State, their defense must force Uiagalelei to make a few mistakes.

Big XII

Eliminated: Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Texas, West Virginia, Baylor, Texas Tech, TCU, and Kansas.

Oklahoma State was the Big XII’s only real hope for a playoff spot heading into last week. The Longhorns went into Stillwater and spoiled those hopes. It’s always good to see a lowly underdog like Texas rise up to knock off a big-ticket program like Oklahoma State.

Big Ten

Contender(s): Ohio State

Still Alive but Not Likely: Wisconsin, Indiana, Northwestern, and Purdue

Eliminated: Michigan, Rutgers, Maryland, Michigan State, Penn State, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska.

Wisconsin was the first victim of the Big Ten’s atrocious COVID planning. The Big Ten requires a team play a minimum of six games to be eligible for the league title game. I guess that means, they get one more mulligan. Another brilliant policy by a league who claimed to express the most concern regarding a worldwide pandemic, but allowed for the least amount of flexibility in scheduling.

Wisconsin cancels Saturday’s game with Purdue.

Zero margin for error from hereon out for Wisconsin. The Badgers can’t have another game canceled – either by themselves or the opponent – and still play in the Big Ten title game. https://t.co/jdED3pP45E

— Sam McKewon (@swmckewonOWH) November 3, 2020

Michigan laid an egg at home against Michigan State. Two weeks into the season, Ohio State is the only credible playoff threat.

Pac-12

Big time West Coast football is back and they’re kicking things off at 9:00 AM local time when Arizona State travels to Los Angeles to face Southern Cal.

Oregon plays host to Stanford, Arizona travels to Utah, and the Huskies play at Cal to open the season. The Pac-12 will follow the Big Ten’s no room for error model and will need an undefeated champion if they intend to send a representative to the playoff.

Group of Five

American Athletic Conference

The Bearcats racked up another impressive conference victory over Memphis. Should Cincinnati run the table, they will have a better resume than BYU, but I believe the Cougars’ offense give BYU the edge over a Bearcats offense that struggles to push the ball down the field.

Mountain West

If Boise State were to knock off BYU on Friday night, the Broncos should theoretically usurp the Cougars’ claim to the top non-Power Five option, however, their eight game schedule may hold them back. Style points will matter on Friday night.

Acknowledgements, but no need to expand upon

•  6-0 Liberty (Independent)
• 5-0 Marshall (C-USA)
• 6-0 Coastal Carolina (Sun Belt) – should BYU lose on Friday night, I will begin to campaign the Chanticleers as the next non-Power Five option for the CFP Selection Committee.

Current College Football Playoff Picture

Featured image used under Creative Commons license courtesy jacksonlavarnway