Written by Adrian Beecher
Anywhere, USA – I’ve read many articles on Sunday from reporters that say they see no way that UCF makes it into the College Football Playoff. This makes me ask the question how, how can you not see the path?
I see one that is clearer than many may think. Is it improbable? Yes. Impossible? No.
Let’s just look at the AP and Coaches rankings at this moment. UCF sits at No. 7 in both polls and come Tuesday, one could assume they should be 7 in the College Football Playoff Rankings.
Now, 5 of the 6 teams in front of them have to play in a conference championship game, Notre Dame being the outlier. Let’s just assume Notre Dame is already solidified in the top four.
No. 1 Alabama and No. 4 Georgia will face off in Atlanta on Saturday afternoon and it’s not outlandish to think the Tide will roll over the Dawgs. That drops UGA out of the top four and gives them two losses. Tide stay at No. 1. That solidifies two spots.
No. 2 Clemson faces off against an unranked PITT on Saturday night in the ACC Championship game. It’s not crazy to think Clemson will dominate PITT or at least win and solidify their spot. That’s three spots locked up.
Now for the part where you all tell me I’m crazy.
No. 5 Oklahoma has to face off against No. 9 Texas in the Big 12 Championship game. Now, who’s to say that the Longhorns won’t win this rematch of the Red River Rivalry? I mean, UT had a 45-24 lead over the Sooners at the end of the 3rd quarter, before Boomer made it interesting in the end. This would knock Oklahoma out of the possibility of being in the top 4, creating a 3 loss Big 12 Champion, being Texas. Some may say that would be enough to give the Longhorns a shot at the CFP. But really? We are talking about a 3 loss team getting into a Playoff that has yet to see a 2 loss team make the cut, so I think not.
This takes us to the coveted Big Ten Championship game, with all of the previous things I’ve said considered, the best contender to make that 4th spot, Ohio State, who sits at No. 6 right now. They get to face No. 19 Northwestern in primetime on FOX at Lucas Oil Stadium. You had better believe that coach Pat Fitzgerald will have the Wildcats geared up and ready to rock the house as they take on the Buckeyes. And let’s just say, Northwestern pulls off the upset. This knocks the Buckeyes out of contention for that 4th spot easily.
Now bring in the AAC Championship game with undefeated UCF. You can make a case that Memphis could upset the Knights and end all this talk once and for all. You can say that without their star quarterback McKenzie Milton, the Knights aren’t as potent. Did it seem that way after they lost him on Friday? In the passing game, yes. However, up only 7-0, the Knights finished the game without Milton with 391 rushing yards and completely dominated USF taking a 38-10 win.
So the Knights win against Memphis and win big. Ohio State, Oklahoma and Georgia all lose. The committee will then be stuck with one of the toughest decisions they’ve had to make. Put in an undefeated UCF team that has won 25 straight games (Including the AAC Champ Game), a 2 loss Michigan team that lost to Notre Dame and Ohio State, who in this scenario we are assuming lost to Northwestern in the title game as well as got steamrolled by Purdue who finished 6-6, or they can take a 3 loss Texas team.
Or maybe they put in two-loss Georgia, who lost to Bama in the SEC Title game. Would that really make sense though? Georgia vs Bama in the Cotton Bowl in a rematch of the SEC title game and the 2018 CFP National Title game. Talk about a record on repeat.
Is the decision here really that difficult? I’ll let you decide that for yourself.
