Headed into bye week, I think it’s fun to map out the CFP landscape and whether we are still in the hunt.
The way I see it, there will likely be 7 spots up for grabs split between BIG and SEC, after you account for:
- Notre Dame automatic bid (bs the way it is structured but I think they might actually be the best team)
- G6 bid (Boise)
- 1 from ACC (Miami)
4-5: two from big 12 ( probably Tech and Utah, since I think BYU loses to ND and Utah, Tech has cupcake schedule)
So that leaves 7. The way it stands now, I think that’s 4 from SEC: Georgia, Bama, Texas, Ole Miss. maybe Mizzou or Tennessee sub in for Ole Miss when it’s all said and done, but pretty safe they will get 4.
Probably looking at 3 from the BIG. Let’s say we pencil in OSU and Indiana. Who fills in the last spot?
There’s a mosh pit in middle of the BIG. Depending on how the games play out, I think Iowa, UCLA, USC, Northwestern, Nebraska, and Wisconsin are all technically still alive. Iowa, UCLA, and USC the most likely candidates.
Really, this is pretty black and white for USC. Either we go the rest of the way with 1 more loss (let’s pretend it’s OSU), and I think that’s enough to get in. That would assume a win at Wisconsin, at Indiana, and at UCLA. We lose more than 1 game, and we are out. So yeah, this analysis is pretty useless.
But Iowa is the team that scares me the most. They have a buttercup schedule and very well could end the season with 1 loss. That might play us out even if we only have 2 losses. Also, we need the ACC to continue to blow up outside of Miami.
Any thoughts on who we should cheer for/ against to increase our possible roads to sneak in?