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Chaos feeds college football. It’s the engine that keeps sports a crazy mess that we all love so much.
In sports, chaos is exciting. Chaos is fun. Chaos is wonderful.
Oregon brought chaos to downtown Ohio and all of college football in September, rushing into Horseshoe 35-28 in shock in the state of Ohio. The Ducks were at a good end of the chaos.
There’s also a bad ending, and they found that place on Saturday night in Salt Lake City, losing to Utah, resulting in a wave of chaos in the sport that begins in the final week of the regular season. Call it the madness of November!
Utes and their 38-7 wins opened the door for College Football playoffs for several teams. Sure, Georgia looks locked and so does any one-loss Big Ten champion. But what about those other two points? Suddenly they seem to be eligible, and maybe for the first time in the playoffs, we could have two losses in the football final four.
Let’s look at the beneficiaries of Oregon’s loss:
Cincinnati QB Desmond Ridder
Albert Cesare / USA TODAY NETWORK
Invincible Cincinnati
Cincinnati didn’t need Oregon to lose to reach the four finals, but boy, that will definitely make the trail smoother. After the SMU was blown up, the 11-0 Bearcats settled for an AAC title and an invincible chip. If that happens, even this CFP selection committee can’t keep them out (or maybe it can? Who knows).
What’s left: In East Carolina; vs. Houston in the AAC championship.
Argument in favor: The Bearcats have a reason for the best win of the season, a 24-13 win at Notre Dame, and they have won all their other games.
Argument against: They have the worst schedule of all the teams looked at (it ranks in the 100s), and they’ve struggled with teams like the Navy, Tulane and Tulsa.
One-loss Big 12 champion Oklahoma State
Did you think the defeat in Iowa ruined Cowboys ’chances? Not this year! Oklahoma Statella has a real road to the playoffs if it wins. Pokes have dominated lately, especially in the defensive game. Even the chairman of the CFP committee, Gary Barta, noticed this last week. They beat their ticket to the Big 12 championship game with Texas Tech playing 23-0.
What’s left: vs. Oklahoma; Big 12 Championship vs. Baylor / Oklahoma
Argument in favor: Oklahoma State has the best strength of all teams outside Notre Dame, and the Pokes have been cruising recently, winning their last four matches by at least 21 points.
Argument against: As a league, the Big 12 is not as strong this season, and the Cowboys ’loss (24-21, 6-5 Iowa State) may be the worst of the competition.
One-loss Big 12 champion Oklahoma
You can now see why Bedlam is so significant this season. The Stillwater winner will keep himself alive in the race for the CFP spot. The game at Ann Arbor has been counted almost a quarter-final, but Bedlam is also in the playoffs.
What’s left: In the state of Oklahoma; (possible) Big 12 Championship vs. Oklahoma State.
Argument in favor: The Sooners, who won the Oklahoma State, would qualify for the Big 12 title game where they would have the chance to win the Cowboys again. That would be two good wins in a week.
Argument against: Oklahoma has failed miserably in the entire “game management” category this season because the Sooners have not been able to control many games, including Tulane and Kansas.
One loss to Notre Dame
The Irish are back in the playoffs, whether you like it or not. For Cincinnati after the defeat, Notre Dame is cruising by burying Georgia Tech after 55-0 for the sixth consecutive victory.
What’s left: In Stanford.
Argument in favor: If it is possible that the loss is “good”, the Irish will have the best loss of all the best teams and will have the best strength of all the top 10 teams.
Argument against: They don’t play in a championship game because they have a critical 13th “information point,” which can be a very tough decision.
Irish TE Michael Mayer and QB Jack Coan
Matt Cashore / USA TODAY Sports
Two losses to Big Ten East runner-up
We know you don’t like this. But it is possible that the first two-loss team in the CFP era may be among the hated characters in Michigan, Ohio State and Alabama (see below). Imagine if the Wolverines or the Buckeyes played a tough match next weekend, maybe even overtime. A 10-2 Ohio State or 10-2 Michigan could be a real chance to take no. 4 seeds.
What’s left: Each other!
Argument in favor: The loser in the game would have two “best” losses for any team this season (Ohio State for Oregon and Michigan; Michigan for Michigan State and vs. Ohio State). And it would have ranked second in the best college football conference this season. In this scenario, the loser of the game needs a winner to run the business and win the Big Ten in Indianapolis next week.
Argument against: They didn’t even play their own league championship match! And the Wolverines could be in a 10-2 draw with Michigan State, the team they lost to.
(Also, does the state of Michigan have a chance at this place? Sure, maybe, but the committee has already expressed its feelings about Sparty, and Saturday’s explosion in Ohio didn’t help things)
Two losses to Alabama
I know I know. Roll your eyes, but this is an opportunity. It would require the loss of some other teams (like Cincinnati, Oklahoma or Oklahoma State and maybe Notre Dame). But what if Crimson Tide played near Georgia in an SEC championship match? Some may see it as one of the most impressive performances of the season.
What’s left: In Auburn; vs. Georgia in the SEC Championship
Argument in favor: The Tide is one of the country’s strongest schedules and plays at the country’s best conference.
Argument against: They have two losses, they didn’t win their conference and looked wild against Arkansas and LSU.
More College Football Reviews:
• Ohio State crushes MSU to move to Michigan Week
• Deion Sanders has restored JSU to excellence
• Even Mullen’s Post-Mizzou Presser was a disaster
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Sources 2/ https://www.si.com/college/2021/11/21/cfp-scenarios-cincinnati-notre-dame-michigan-ohio-state The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article |
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