Can two Group of Five teams make it into the College Football Playoff?
At this point of the College Football Playoff, it has gotten so twisted and convoluted with the expanded conferences, tiebreakers, and the committee's unique ever-shifting criteria that I would like nothing more than for this year to end with utter confusion and chaos. Let's get crazy here, right? The best chaos scenario I can envision […]
At this point of the College Football Playoff, it has gotten so twisted and convoluted with the expanded conferences, tiebreakers, and the committee's unique ever-shifting criteria that I would like nothing more than for this year to end with utter confusion and chaos. Let's get crazy here, right?
The best chaos scenario I can envision has two Group of Five teams making it into the 12-team playoff. After all the discussion around Indiana, Texas, BYU, on and on, blah blah blah, let's talk about a seriously fun and important topic.
How can two Group of Five teams make it into the 12-team playoffs? It requires some chaos, but there's a way it could happen.
Boise State has virtually locked up their spot, barring an upset here to close out the season. If that occurs, they likely are out. It feels like a safe bet for them to make it, however, so I won't focus too much on them. Win, and you're in, Broncos.
The two teams that need the chaos to make it are Army and Tulane. How can they make it?
It starts with the Big 12 cannibalizing themselves. Here's how it works out in the Big 12 for this to happen:
- Tulane/Army win out their season
- BYU loses to Houston and Arizona State
- Arizona State beats BYU but loses to Arizona
- Colorado loses to Kansas and Oklahoma State
- Iowa State beats Kansas State but loses to Utah
- Baylor wins out
If this happens, all of the top Big 12 teams would have three conference losses and none of BYU, Colorado, Arizona State, or Iowa State would play in the Big 12 championship. In this scenario, one of Tulane/Army would almost assuredly be the higher-ranked team and conference champion.
Keep in mind that the playoff rules specifically state that the five highest-ranked conference champs get an auto-bid. In this scenario, the five would be the ACC, Big Ten, SEC, Boise State, and then one of Tulane/Army. The American champion would be the 12-seed, but they would be in. From there, who knows what could happen?
There are other insanely crazy scenarios for these two teams to make it, but the Big 12 eliminating themselves is the cleanest route forward.
Is it crazy? Absolutely. The odds of something like this happening are pretty slim. That's the beauty of college football though, right? In a season as insane as this one has been, never say never.
