College Football Playoff: The 27 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, 31 teams were still alive; this week, there are 27. The four teams cut from last week’s list were Illinois, Florida, Navy, and Clemson. Here’s a complete inventory of the teams still technically alive to compete for the national championship.

Big Ten

Oregon: With a perfect 9-0 record and a win over Ohio State, Oregon has a manageable schedule. The Ducks play Maryland, 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 has been very good this year, but we’ll get a taste of just how good the Hoosiers are on Nov. 23 when it travels to Ohio State. Even with a loss to Ohio State, Indiana has a real shot at being at least an 11-1 team in the Big Ten. That should get Indiana into the field.

Penn State: Penn State suffered its first loss of the season Saturday in a 20-13 loss to Penn State. The Nittany Lions, though down, are still very much in the Playoff picture. If Penn State wins its next four games against Washington, Purdue, Minnesota and Maryland, it will make the field.

Ohio State: Ohio State may have punched its ticket to the Playoff with a win at Penn State last weekend. The Buckeyes still have a big-time matchup with Indiana (you read that right) on their schedule, but they are sitting pretty in the Big Ten and Playoff race at the moment.

SEC

Texas A&M: Texas A&M is probably down in the dumps right now after getting blown out by South Carolina on Saturday. 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 is the clear favorite to win the SEC after it completely dominated Texas on national television a few weeks ago. But the Bulldogs did struggle with a Florida team Saturday who lost D.J. Lagway in the second quarter. The Bulldogs lost to Alabama — a blemish that isn’t aging well — but they still have looked like the scariest team in college football. At 7-1, Georgia may own the best win in college football with Ole Miss and Tennessee still looming on its schedule.

Texas: For most of the season, Texas looked like the best team in the sport. Then the Georgia game happened. Still, the Longhorns only have one loss and control their destiny in the SEC race. If it loses to Texas A&M at the end of the season, Texas may have to sweat.

Tennessee:  Tennessee has looked like a national championship-caliber team this year. It has also lost to Arkansas. Sitting at 7-1 after a win over Kentucky, the Volunteers still have a big game at Georgia on its schedule on Nov. 16. Even if Tennessee loses to the Bulldogs, it still could be in a great spot in the Playoff race because it beat Alabama. Who thought the Volunteers would have to root for Alabama? Yuck.

LSU: After getting blown off the field in the second half at Texas A&M two weeks ago, most people closed the book on the Tigers. But LSU still only has one loss in SEC play and has an opportunity to reassert itself as one of the best teams in the conference when Alabama comes to town Saturday. LSU has to win that game — and all the rest of them — to stay in the hunt.

Alabama: Alabama hasn’t been in the conversation much since losing to Tennessee, but the Crimson Tide very well could be in the top 12 as soon as Tuesday evening. If Alabama beats LSU on the road Saturday night, the Crimson Tide will control its destiny for a Playoff spot. That’s what beating Georgia does for you.

Ole Miss:  Mississippi went all-in on upgrading its roster this season when it saw the returning talent and peeped the 2024 schedule. Mississippi has been a disappointment — suffering two losses before November — but it’s coming off a win over Arkansas in which it scored 63 points. Ole Miss has a massive home game against Georgia on Saturday. If it wins and finishes the regular season at 10-2, that’s a Playoff resume.

Missouri: The good news? The Tigers are 6-2. The bad news? They have been blown out by Texas A&M and Alabama, the only two really good teams they have faced all season. It would take all sorts of chaos for Missouri to climb its way back into the picture, but I’m not ready to eliminate an SEC team that has a chance to go 10-2 on the year.

Vanderbilt: The Commodores have three losses. You’d think that would keep them out. But Vanderbilt has an ace up its sleeve with the Alabama win, especially if the Crimson Tide win out. Vanderbilt just beat Auburn and still has to finish its regular season with back-to-back games against Tennessee and LSU. If Vanderbilt wins them both and Alabama also wins out, the Commodores would absolutely be in the discussion at 9-3.

Big 12

BYU:  The Cougars are 8-0 on the year and own wins over SMU and Kansas State. It may be tough for two Big 12 teams to crack the field this year, but BYU controls its destiny for one of the guaranteed spots. Quarterback Jake Retzlaff has been electric. Next up is the Holy War against Utah on Saturday.

Iowa State: Iowa State suffered its first loss of the season Saturday to Texas Tech. The magic ran out for the Cyclones, who gave up the winning touchdown with only seconds on the clock after taking a dramatic lead a few minutes prior. Iowa State, though, still controls its own destiny to get to the Big 12 Championship Game.

Kansas State: The Wildcats’ CFP chances took a major hit with a loss to Houston on Saturday. Though it was a back-breaker, Kansas State still only has two losses in Big 12 play and still has Iowa State on the schedule. It needs some help, but getting to Dallas is possible if it wins out.

Colorado: There is a realistic chance Colorado could control its own destiny in the Big 12 race by Sunday. All it has to do is beat Texas Tech and hope for a Kansas State loss. The Buffaloes are 6-2 and their own loss in the Big 12 came to Kansas State after star Travis Hunter left the game with an injury. This isn’t just hype anymore. Colorado is dangerous.

ACC

Miami: Miami played an ugly game on Saturday and still beat Duke by 22 points. The Hurricanes’ defense is cause for worry, but their offense may be the best in college football. Looking at Miami’s remaining schedule, it seems unlikely that these Cam Ward-led Hurricanes won’t be playing for the ACC title in Charlotte.

SMU: With a 48-25 win over previously-undefeated Pitt on Saturday, SMU went from a cute story to a real contender. The Mustangs control their own destiny in the ACC, which could mean a potential matchup with Miami in the conference championship game. SMU would have a hard time getting into the Playoff if it loses in the hypothetical matchup with the Hurricanes in the ACC Championship Game, but the Mustangs are in control of their fate.

Pittsburgh: Pitt came into last weekend undefeated, but the Panthers went to SMU and got destroyed. That hurts Pitt’s chances as an at-large candidate, but with only one loss in the ACC, the Panthers are still technically in the hunt. They no longer control their own destiny, though.

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 six-straight and it is coming off a 51-14 blowout of Navy, which came into that game undefeated and ranked No. 24. 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 lost to Rice over the weekend, 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 kept rolling with a blowout win over San Diego State on Friday. 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 was without star quarterback Bryson Daily on Saturday, but it still beat Air Force, 20-3. Army is now 8-0 and in full control of its destiny in the AAC. It still has to play Notre Dame — which blew out previously-undefeated Notre Dame 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 six-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 didn’t play Saturday, but it’s 7-1. It’s 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 just 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 7-1 and remained unbeaten in the Sun Belt with a win over Texas State its last time out. It’s going to be a battle for them to be the highest-ranked G5 champion, but with the entire month of November still to be played, chaos could happen. Louisiana has a chance to be a one-loss conference champion. It has to still be alive.