College Football Playoff: The 26 teams who still have a chance to make the field

The first edition of the College Football Playoff Committee’s rankings will be revealed on Tuesday night.

Before seeing how the people who make the 12-team bracket feel about the teams, we have to ask which programs are still in the hunt. It’s a heck of a lot more than would still be alive at this point in the season during the four-team era.

Last week, 27 teams were still alive; this week, there are 26. The three teams cut from last week’s list were LSU, Pittsburgh and Vanderbilt. We added Arizona State and Clemson back onto the list, as they both should have been represented a week ago. Here’s a complete inventory of the teams still alive to compete for the national championship.

Big Ten

Oregon: Another week, another win for Oregon. The Ducks beat Maryland by 21 points to stay unbeaten. The Ducks play Wisconsin and Washington in the regular season before presumably advancing to the Big Ten title game. Oregon feels like the only remaining team in the Big Ten that’s guaranteed to make the Playoff. 

Indiana: Indiana’s five-point win over Michigan on Saturday was the closest game the Hoosiers have played all season. Indiana advanced to 10-0 for the first time in school history as it gears up for a big-time matchup with Ohio State in Columbus on Nov. 23.

Penn State: Penn State bounced back from a tough home loss to Ohio State by blowing out Washington. The Nittany Lions are a one-loss team and should have no issue beating Purdue, Minnesota and Maryland to close out the season. If Penn State finishes 11-1, it’ll safely be in the Playoff field.

Ohio State: Ohio State is a one-loss team with a top-10 win over Penn State. Though Ohio State could be theoretically be in danger when Indiana comes to town in a few weeks, the Buckeyes likely would still make the Playoff even if they finish the season 10-2. Ohio State will likely be double-digit favorites over Indiana, so the Buckeyes are sitting pretty.

SEC

Texas A&M: Texas A&M is still down in the dumps after getting blown out by South Carolina two weeks ago. It didn’t play a game this past weekend to turn the page. But the Aggies still only have one loss in SEC play and host Texas at the end of the season. If Texas A&M keeps winning — and beats Texas somehow — it’ll be in the Playoff.

Georgia: Georgia went on the road Saturday and got its doors blown off by Ole Miss. The Bulldogs have looked amazing at times and bad at times this season, so we’re still uncertain of how good they are. Two-loss Georgia has a chance to hop right back into the center of the Playoff picture this weekend when it hosts Tennessee.

Texas: Though Texas got beaten handily the only time it played another Playoff contender this year, the Longhorns have blown out just about everyone on their schedule. That was the case this past weekend when quarterback Quinn Ewers threw 5 touchdowns in a 49-17 win over Florida. Texas is probably the favorite to win the SEC right now, but it’s game at Texas A&M in the regular-season finale is going to tell us everything we need to know. The Longhorns don’t want to go into Selection Sunday with a 10-2 record and no quality wins, so beating the Aggies is crucial.

Tennessee: The only blemish on Tennessee’s resume is a bad loss to Arkansas. Still, the Volunteers only have one loss in SEC play and are heading into a huge matchup at Georgia on Saturday. If Tennessee wins that game, it’s in the Playoff. If it loses, it finds itself on the bubble.

Alabama: Alabama was left for dead after it lost to Tennessee in October, but it has responded with consecutive wins over Missouri and LSU. The win over LSU was utter domination in Tiger Stadium, which leaves us wondering if the Crimson Tide have turned a corner. Alabama has games with Mercer, Oklahoma and Auburn still remaining on its schedule. If it finishes 10-2 with a win over Georgia in its pocket, that’s a recipe for making the field of 12.

Ole Miss: Mississippi’s domination of Georgia over the weekend vaulted the Rebels back into the Playoff picture. They could be in the top-10 as soon as Tuesday evening. Right now, Ole Miss has two losses, but its win over Georgia legitimizes the Rebels as a legit Playoff contender. Ole Miss still has to beat Florida and Mississippi State, but it’s sitting pretty right now.

Missouri: After Missouri‘s dramatic win over Oklahoma on Saturday, Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said he was happy his team was still alive in the CFP race. Some people rolled their eyes, but it’s technically true. Mizzou is going to need some help, but you can’t close the book on an SEC team that has a chance to finish the season 10-2. The two losses were ugly and beating South Carolina this weekend is going to be a battle, but the Tigers technically aren’t dead yet.

Big 12

BYU: For a few seconds Saturday night, the world thought BYU suffered its first loss. Nope. The Cougars used a holding call late in its win over Utah to set up a game-winning drive. BYU, now 9-0, control their own destiny in the Big 12 and CFP race. It has a tricky game against Kansas on Saturday, but it seems highly likely the Cougars will be in Dallas playing for a conference championship.

Iowa State: The Cyclones suffered their second consecutive loss Saturday when it came up short against Kansas. The knocked Iowa State down to two losses in Big 12 play and looking up at BYU and Colorado in the conference standings. The only way Iowa State makes the CFP is if it wins the Big 12. It needs some help to get to Dallas.

Kansas State: Kansas State was trendy pick to win the Big 12 coming into the season. The Wildcats were in good positon until it dropped a game to Houston. Still, Kansas State only has two losses in Big 12 play and could get into the conference title game with some help. It plays Iowa State in Farmageddon at the end of the year, so the Wildcats will be rooting against Colorado and BYU heading into mid-November.

Colorado: If you haven’t been paying attention to Colorado, now is the time to start. The Buffaloes have three games remaining on their schedule in Utah, Kansas and Oklahoma State. If it wins all three of those games, Colorado is going to the Big 12 Championship Game. Now is the time to really start considering that Deion Sanders’ team could make the CFP.

Arizona State: Arizona State was unjustly left off this list this week. But just like Kansas State and Iowa State, the Sun Devils only have two losses on the year and are mathematically alive in the Big 12 hunt. Arizona State has to play Kansas State and BYU in its next two games, so the path isn’t going to be easy. But if the Sun Devils win out, they are absolutely alive.

ACC

Miami: Miami was cruising this season. Then it lost to Georgia Tech on Saturday. Funny enough, Pittsburgh lost to Virginia later in the evening. So in two television windows, Miami went from out of the CFP to the favorite to win the ACC again. Miami lived through a wide range of emotions, but the Hurricanes — who hold a tiebreaker over Clemson right now — still go to Charlotte if it doesn’t lose another regular season game.

SMU: In its first year in the ACC, SMU is leading the way in mid-November. The Mustangs have yet to lose a game in ACC play. Their only loss on the season is BYU, who has still yet to lose a game at all. SMU has Boston College, Virginia and Cal left on its schedule. Things are looking pretty good for a matchup between SMU and Miami in the ACC title game.

Clemson: The Tigers have two losses, but only one is in the ACC. Clemson plays Pittsburgh on Saturday, which is a chance to pick up a semi-quality win and stay alive in the conference title hunt. Unfortunately for Clemson, it needs help to make the ACC Championship Game. Weirder things have happened, but the Tigers don’t control their own destiny in the conference or the Playoff race.

Independent

Notre Dame: Notre Dame defined by many by the embarrassing loss they took to Northern Illinois earlier in the year. Notre Dame, though, has now won seven-straight after blowing out Florida State on Saturday. Notre Dame has also beaten Texas A&M this year, so it could finish the season with victories over the Aggies, Army and USC. Navy has two losses now, so that win isn’t as impressive anymore. But there’s no shot this team doesn’t get in at 11-1.

Group of 5

Boise State: Boise State played in a closer-than-expected game with Nevada on Saturday, but it still won. The Broncos are backed by all-world running back Ashton Jeanty and they earned the nation’s respect with a near-win at Oregon early in the season. No Group of 5 team looks like a better Playoff candidate than Boise State right now.

UNLV:  UNLV was one of the interesting stories of the season, but two heart-breaking Friday night losses to Syracuse and Boise State has knocked the Rebels out of the spotlight. But if UNLV runs the table and beats Boise State in the Mountain West Championship Game — in Boise — there’s a really good chance they are the highest-ranked Group of 5 champion at the end of the year. Even with two losses.

Army: Army got star quarterback Bryson Daily back Saturday and beat North Texas 14-3. Army is now 9-0 and in full control of its destiny in the AAC. In two weeks, it plays Notre Dame — which blew out previously-undefeated Navy, 51-14 — but the Black Knights are still in the picture.

Tulane: You may not be paying attention to Tulane after it lost games to Kansas State and Oklahoma before reaching conference play. The Wave, though, have won seven-straight games and are unbeaten in AAC play. Like Army and Navy, Tulane would need some help. But it is still alive.

Washington State: Washington State blew out Utah State on Saturday to improve to 8-1. Its only loss is to Boise State. It’s not in a recognizable conference, so if it makes the CFP, it would have to be as an at-large. There is no automatic bid for them. It seems wrong to take the Cougars off the list if it has a chance to go 11-1 on the season.

Louisiana: Louisiana improved to 8-1 and remained unbeaten in the Sun Belt with a 55-19 win over Arkansas State on Saturday. It will be a battle for them to be the highest-ranked G5 champion, but chaos could happen with the entire month of November still to be played. Louisiana has a chance to be a one-loss conference champion. It has to still be alive.