Teams that will almost certainly get into the College Football Playoff by winning out
They already have a loss, but they control whether or not they get to their respective Power Five conference championships. So, win out, and it’s a near-lock to get into the College Football Playoff.
14. Baylor Bears (6-1)
Baylor is in the College Football Playoff if … it rolls through the rest of its schedule, goes 12-1, and wins the Big 12 Championship.
We did this two years ago, and it seemed ridiculous. Yeah, ha ha ha, Baylor was going to be in the College Football Playoff mix, that’s rich.
And then everything broke right and it almost happened.
The loss at Oklahoma State earlier this year is more than acceptable, but …
It’s all going to go wrong against … Oklahoma on November 13th, or against Texas in two weeks, or at Kansas State on November 20th. Even if all of that works out, one more loss – even in the Big 12 Championship – ends it.
Will Baylor get into the College Football Playoff? No, but getting to a second Big 12 title game in three years would be fantastic. No matter what, the team will go to a good bowl in a huge turnaround season under Dave Aranda.
Ranking the teams alive for the College Football Playoff
UTSA | San Diego State | Coastal Carolina
SMU | Texas A&M | Auburn | Ole Miss
Notre Dame | Kentucky | Cincinnati
Baylor | Pitt | NC State | Wake Forest
Ohio State | Oregon | Penn State | Iowa
Michigan State | Oklahoma St | Michigan
Alabama | Oklahoma | Georgia
Bowl Projections | CFN Rankings