One of the benefits of having the college football playoff expanded to 12 teams is that so many more teams are in the hunt later in the season. However, there comes a time when the dreams of some good teams come to an end before the regular season ends. While not all of these teams are “mathematically “ eliminated from the playoff, their recent play has put them in a very difficult position. To be completely clear, none of these teams will get an at-large berth.
Playoff Chances Fading For Three Teams
LSU Tigers
This past Saturday in Baton Rouge was billed as a playoff elimination game as both LSU and Alabama entered the contest with two losses each. With so many teams competing for a spot in the twelve-team tournament, anyone with three losses puts them on the outside looking in.
In a game most people thought would be close, the Tide rolled into the bayou and walked away with a 42-13 road win. Alabama dominated from the start and quarterback Jalen Milroe ran wild with four touchdowns on the ground. In other words, this one was over early.
The timing for the Tigers isn’t great either just two weeks after getting blasted 31-6 in the second half at Texas A&M en route to a 38-23 loss. Basically, these Bayou Bengals are done in terms of getting to the playoff. There are three teams ahead of them in the conference and they’re tied with four other teams in the loss column.
Pitt Panthers
The flying “Pat Narduzzi’s” were undefeated and looking good until the last two weeks. First, they went to Dallas and got smoked by SMU who is firmly in the playoff conversation. Then in a home game against Virginia, the Panthers lost again.
In a down year for the ACC, the league might only get one team in the playoff and two at most. Pitt now sits behind SMU, Miami, and Clemson in the loss column in league play. That means they have their work cut out for themselves just to get to the conference championship game. Winning it looks even more challenging than getting there. Remaining games against Clemson, Louisville, and Boston College cause us to say that Pitt is definitely out.
Iowa State
The Cyclones are another team with an ill-timed two-game losing streak. The unbeaten streak ended with a home loss in the final minute against Texas Tech followed by a road loss at Kansas where the Cyclones apparently forgot to play defense. Giving up 45 points against anyone is unusual for this team but that’s exactly what they did.
The schedule isn’t easy down the stretch as they face off against an improved Cincinnati squad followed by at Utah and then finishing at home in “Farmagedden” against a motivated Kansas State team that will have revenge on their minds after Iowa State won In Manhattan last season in a blizzard.
While it’s unlikely that Iowa State will lose all three remaining regular season games, it will be challenging to win out, and even if they do they are not guaranteed a spot in the Big 12 conference championship game. Unless they get to the conference championship game and win it, they will be watching the playoff after a season that started with so much promise.
And there you have the three teams that are in the process of playing their way out of the inaugural 12-team playoff. Over the next three weeks, there will be more teams that shoot themselves in the foot. The big question is who and when will they do it?
Main Image: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
