As we approach the midpoint of the 2024 college football season, the new expanded playoff format is keeping the dream alive for some power conference teams that historically have not been part of any championship conversation. Let’s take a look at five of these teams and analyze their chances of remaining in the hunt for a spot in the playoff.
Under the Radar Playoff Contenders
Duke
Expectations were lowered coming into this season after the departure of head coach Mike Elko who left to take over at Texas A&M. However, new head coach Manny Diaz has the Blue Devils undefeated this season. This is quite surprising given that Diaz had a less than stellar tenure at Miami and quarterback Lincoln Riley transferred to Notre Dame.
There are two major concerns for this squad as they try to navigate their way through the second half of the season. First, they have hardly been dominant so far. A six-point win over Northwestern, a five-point win over UCONN, and a one-point victory over North Carolina are evidence of that as all of those programs are down this year. Secondly, the remaining schedule won’t be easy as the Blue Devils have road games against Georgia Tech and Miami as well as a home game against dangerous SMU.
With the ACC also down this year, the Blue Devils will undoubtedly need to finish unbeaten to have any chance of sneaking into the playoff.
Rutgers
It’s no surprise that Greg Schiano has brought the Scarlet Knights back to relevance in his second stint with the program.
Rutgers has also been less than dominant so far. We can’t consider blowout wins over Howard and Akron as such. However, they have won both games that were in the toss-up category at Virginia Tech and a home game against the Washington Huskies.
The schedule for the Knights will also present some challenges beginning this week at Nebraska as well as a late-season matchup at USC. Home games against Wisconsin and Illinois will also prove challenging as both teams play good defense and Rutgers is hardly an offensive juggernaut. One thing for certain is this team will never quit under Schiano and even if they fall short of the playoff they should find themselves in a decent bowl game at season’s end.
BYU
Don’t look now but the Cougars are making some noise in the BIG 12. An early season blowout win over Kansas State served notice that this team is for real.
BYU also has road wins this season over SMU and Baylor both of which are very pesky, especially in their own stadiums. Even though the Baylor game got close at the end, the Cougars were in control throughout. This year it looks like they have a legit defense which they will need.
The Cougars will need that strong defense beginning this week when a dangerous Arizona team visits. The Wildcats put in a dominant performance last week at Utah and even though star quarterback Cameron Rising was out for the Utes, the team won without him the week before at Oklahoma State. That same Cowboys team comes calling the week after Arizona. A late-season trip to Utah also looms large for the Cougars and if Rising is back it presents an even bigger challenge.
BYU looks to be one team on our list that can afford to lose one game, possibly two to get in the playoff. However, with two losses it becomes very dicey in terms of whether they could still get in.
Indiana
We mentioned them recently when talking about sleeper teams in the hunt for the playoff and the Hoosiers remain squarely in the conversation. Head coach Curt Cignetti has the players believing and the fanbase excited.
Cignetti has this team averaging 49 points per game through five games this season and playing at least respectable defense. The remaining schedule presents some challenges for them similar to the other teams on our list. They should handle Northwestern this week without any trouble which will make them 6-0. Home games against Washington, Nebraska, and Michigan will tell us a lot about how far this program has come. However, each of these games looks winnable, especially in Bloomington. A late-season tilt in Columbus looms large.
While it’s asking too much for this team to finish undefeated, they have a great chance to make the playoff with one loss. Unfortunately, their lack of a football pedigree will hurt them in the eyes of the committee and a second loss in the BIG Ten Championship game could knock them out if they get there.
Iowa State
From year to year, it’s difficult to predict what this team will do other than they will be competitive. They always seem to win a game or two they’re not expected to and lose one or two they’re not expected to. Usually, their playoff and major bowl game aspirations are gone early after an early season loss in the annual game against Iowa. But this time the Cyclones pulled off a late comeback to steal one in Iowa City.
So far the Cyclones have stuck with their traditional formula of strong defense and an opportunistic if not always explosive offense. They are only giving up 7 points per game through the first four they have played. The offense will need to get better as the only game they put up a lot of points was against Arkansas State.
Home games against Baylor, Cincinnati, and K-State will be difficult especially if the offense can’t show some improvement. Road games at West Virginia and Utah won’t be easy. The West Virginia game looks especially hard for the Cyclones since the Mountaineers can put up points and the fans in Morgantown will be excited to pull the upset if Iowa State comes into the contest without a loss. At Utah is self-explanatory with or without Cameron Rising in the lineup. That one is late in the season making the weather a possible issue.
There we have our top five under-the-radar power conference teams still dreaming of crashing the playoff party. Not all five will make it. It’s possible none of them do but at least some will be dreaming until the very end until we find out “Who’s In?”
Main Image: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images
