Teams that will almost certainly be in the College Football Playoff by winning out
It would take a whole lot of bad luck for any of these teams to be left out if any of them don’t lose the rest of the way. However, that’s not a 100% sure thing – and almost all of them almost certainly won’t go unscathed. Again, these rankings are about how much control each team has.
For the five teams win one loss, they all need Alabama to lose again. It doesn’t matter where, but there’s a massive problem if both Georgia and the Tide are 12-1.
11. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (6-0)
Wake Forest is in the College Football Playoff if … it goes 13-0 and wins the ACC Championship. Considering there’s no unbeaten Pac-12 team, there’s no way, no how, no chance the College Football Playoff committee would leave out an unbeaten ACC champ – unless there’s an unbeaten Big Ten champion, a 13-0 Oklahoma, and if both Alabama and Georgia are 12-1, but …
It’s all going to go wrong against … at North Carolina on November 6th, or against NC State on November 13th, at Clemson, and/or at Boston College. Take your pick, but it’s possible the Demon Deacons win a slew of those.
Will Wake Forest get into the College Football Playoff? No, but don’t leave out the possibility of slipping into the ACC Championship with a New Year’s Six bowl on the line.
Again, though, 12-1 as a Power Five champion would make things interesting.
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