If you have seen our Bubble Watch here at The Student Section, you will remember that we still count 21 teams with a chance at making the College Football Playoff.
Some of those teams will have a better chance than others. Some of those teams don’t really have much of a chance at all, and I am just waiting another week or two before hitting the final “eliminate” button. However, for those teams still alive and not in the best shape, getting into the CFP will be a lot more than just winning out. They need help from teams across the country. Therefore, we’re going to tell you whom everyone still left alive should be rooting for.
ACC
Clemson: For the Tigers, it’s really simple. Win out and you’re in. No need to worry about the rest of the country. However, if they want a chance even in the unlikely scenario that they lose a game between now and the ACC Championship Game, they need Notre Dame and Florida State to look as good as possible, so they are jumping on those bandwagons as well.
North Carolina: The Tar Heels don’t have much of a resume to speak of, which is unfortunate for them. If they want to get in, they need quality wins. Most of all, though, they need Clemson to still be the No. 1 team in the country when they meet in the ACC Championship Game. That means Tar Heel fans are rooting hard for Clemson the rest of the way–until they meet, that is.
Big 12
Baylor: Baylor’s CFP chances are as simple as can be. It’s basically go undefeated or bust. That’s what happens when the staff goes all-in on a weak nonconference schedule and the bottom of the conference doesn’t have many quality teams. Baylor would need a heck of a lot of help to get in with a loss. Right now, the Bears need to assume that it’s win out or be left out.
Oklahoma State: Everything I just said for Baylor applies here, too.
Oklahoma: The Sooners are, in some ways, in a better situation resume-wise than their conference-mates. They have a solid non-conference win over Tennessee and a decent one over Tulsa. Of course, they also have that ugly loss to Texas, so their margin for error is actually zero. Oklahoma is not quite at the top of the pecking order for one-loss teams, so Sooner fans should be rooting for Mississippi State (against Alabama), Wake Forest (against Notre Dame), Oregon (against Stanford), Arkansas (against LSU), and South Carolina (against Florida) this week. Some of those are highly unlikely to end in upsets (Wake Forest and South Carolina), but there are still four weeks left in the season. Oklahoma needs those six dominoes to fall at some point. Might as well start rooting for them early.
TCU: First of all, TCU needs to root for Kolby Listenbee to play at his absolute best to try to make up for the loss of Josh Doctson. The Horned Frogs also need help if they want to get into the College Football Playoff. They’re rooting for the same teams to lose as Oklahoma is, but TCU is also rooting heavily against the Sooners this week. They need Oklahoma to stay ranked, preferably close to the Top 15, but they also need that season finale showdown with Baylor to be as high-stakes as possible. That means Baylor needs to be in a Playoff position when the two meet… which means Baylor needs to stay undefeated for TCU to have any real chance.
Big Ten
Ohio State: The Buckeyes will be in a precarious position if they lose a game, and winning it all last season is unlikely to mean getting a pass from the committee (see Florida State last year). It’s win and in for the Buckeyes. If they do lose a game, meeting an undefeated Iowa team in the Big Ten Championship Game is a good way to try make up for it. Buckeye fans are pulling for the Hawkeyes right now.
Iowa: Iowa actually has a fairly solid resume, but is saddled with a major perception issue. It will be tough for the Hawkeyes to overcome a loss, but if they have to, playing an undefeated Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game will be a great way to make a statement to the committee to end the season. Also, Pitt could sneak back into the rankings if the Panthers finish 9-3. Iowa fans should keep an eye on their game against Duke this weekend.
Michigan State: The Spartans suffered a tough loss against Nebraska, but it was bound to come with the way they’ve let teams stay close all year. Still, that means they are Cornhusker fans this week. That loss won’t look as awful if Nebraska ends up at 5-7 (6-6 would mean Nebraska beating Iowa in three weeks, which is something the Spartans very much do not want). They’re also rooting for Ohio State and Iowa at this point. Two wins over top-10 teams in the final three weeks of the season is a resume that will be very hard to argue with. Michigan State needs the Buckeyes and Hawkeyes to keep their rankings up. Some of the other one-loss teams losing couldn’t hurt either.
Michigan: Michigan’s potential path to the Playoff really deserves the treatment of a full article, which may just be forthcoming if the Wolverines still have a chance after this weekend. In short, though, they need to win the Big Ten with wins over otherwise-undefeated Ohio State and Iowa teams.
The resume would also be boosted if Northwestern could stay ranked and if BYU could sneak into the rankings, so they’re rooting for the Wildcats and Cougars from here on out. They also need Notre Dame to not be in the conversation and for one of the other power conferences to not have a champion with a better resume. The most likely conferences to fall into that category are the ACC and the Big 12. A Clemson loss will help, but it is very unlikely and might not even be enough. Wolverine fans should root for the Coastal champion to win that conference.
Michigan fans should also root for the Big 12 to have a one-loss champion not named Oklahoma. That means either rooting for Oklahoma to beat Baylor this week and then for the Sooners to lose to either TCU or Oklahoma State later on. They could root for Baylor this week and then for Baylor to lose to Oklahoma State later on, but that will leave TCU alive in the picture longer than Wolverine fans should be comfortable with. Also, a Houston loss to Memphis wouldn’t hurt, just to keep Houston officially out of the picture. I guess that Michigan can root for Iowa State to knock off Oklahoma State this week, but come on, when will Oklahoma State ever lose to the Cyclones with a title shot on the line?
(Oh. Wait.)
Northwestern and Wisconsin: If we’re being honest with ourselves, both of these teams are done. In fact, Northwestern is just one Iowa win away from being officially eliminated. Both of these teams are rooting hard against the Hawkeyes, though, because their only chance at all is to finish the season as Big Ten champions.
Pac-12
Stanford: Cardinal fans are rooting for Notre Dame and Utah to win as much as they can so that Stanford will face top-quality late-season opponents. They also need a one-loss champion from the Big 12, so they’re rooting for Oklahoma against Baylor this week. They could also be safe if Clemson loses the ACC Championship Game, but there’s a lot of football to be played until we get to that point.
Utah: Utah wants Michigan to win so that early-season victory is as high-quality as possible. The Utes also need Stanford to keep winning to give them what they hope will be a de facto quarterfinal in the Pac-12 Championship Game. Like Stanford, they want to see a one-loss Big 12 champion, or for Clemson to lose the ACC Championship Game.
UCLA: The committee seems to love the Bruins, but they need a ton of help. They are rooting for USC, Utah, and BYU this week to get some ranked wins on the resume. Other than that, it would really help UCLA’s case if the one-loss contenders start dropping like flies.
SEC
Alabama: Alabama is probably in a win-and-in situation, but having Baylor and Oklahoma State drop a game would solidify it. Also, Notre Dame losing couldn’t hurt, but that’s not a realistic possibility until the Irish play Stanford.
LSU: The Tigers have a solid resume and would have a compelling case if they win out, but they really need an SEC title to get in. LSU fans’ eyeballs will be trained on Starkville, where they hope Dak Prescott and Mississippi State can knock off Alabama and put LSU back in the SEC West driver’s seat.
Florida: The Gators don’t have a bad loss. A one-loss SEC champion will usually be safe, but Florida needs some meat added to this resume. The Gators are rooting for Georgia and Florida State this week. Florida fans should hope that those two (along with Ole Miss) can start winning and stay ranked by the end of the year, so that Florida can have a few quality wins when all is said and done.
Mississippi State: The Bulldogs are still alive if they can beat Alabama, but the resume is a little thin. They will need an SEC title to go with it, which means LSU probably needs to lose two more games. LSU might be rooting for the Bulldogs this week, but the Bulldogs will be rooting for Arkansas to beat LSU.
AAC
Houston: Houston isn’t really alive, but the Cougars need as many power conference champions to look as unworthy as possible to the committee. They’re rooting for chaos.
