What we learned about the College Football Playoff race after the Oregon-Ohio State classic

Two losses no longer necessarily mean a team is eliminated from College Football Playoff contention. There’s a very good chance that three-loss teams will receive an outright bid or two since the field now consists of 12 teams.

And who knows, with five spots reserved for the top-ranked conference champions? Maybe a team with four losses can secure a spot by winning one of the power leagues.

However, if your team has two or three losses at this point in the season, their playoff hopes are bleak.

This may seem presumptuous after what has happened to Alabama since its thrilling win over Georgia, but after watching No. 3 Oregon beat No. 2 Ohio State 32-31 in front of a wild crowd at Autzen Stadium, It’s safe to say that both the Ducks and Buckeyes will take the field.

They appear to be the top two teams in the Big Ten by a wide margin – no offense to Penn State or upstart Indiana.

By the way, the Buckeyes have both the Nittany Lions and Hoosiers left, while the Ducks play neither. The odds are good for a rematch between Oregon and Ohio State in the Big Ten title game.

Outside or close to it

After USC’s win over LSU in the season opener in Las Vegas, who would have thought that the Tigers would be the playoff contenders in the middle of the season and not the Trojans? After blowing a 14-point lead against Penn State on Saturday and losing in overtime, USC has lost three of its last four games — each more painful than the last.

At 1-3 in the Big Ten, the chances of the Trojans making a surprise run to the Big Ten title game are so slim that they’re barely worth mentioning, and the idea of ​​this team winning and moving to 9th :3 could come, it’s hardly worth mentioning, it’s more than far-fetched. USC is ready.

Meanwhile, No. 13 LSU hasn’t lost since leaving Las Vegas. Maybe coach Brian Kelly’s postgame press conference reached the Tigers. They were the ones who won in overtime late on Saturday, proving once again that opponents’ dreams die in Death Valley. In this case, No. 9 Ole Miss’ playoff hopes were in critical condition in Baton Rouge.

Lane Kiffin’s Rebels are 5-2 with exactly zero wins against Power 4 teams with winning records. The problem for the program that won the offseason with a transfer portal spending spree is that there are few opportunities for impressive wins left on the Rebels’ schedule, aside from a home game against Georgia on Nov. 9.

The Rebels probably need to win to have a chance, but perhaps going 9-3 with a win against Georgia will get them into the game.

U-downturn

No. 16 Utah started this season as the Big 12 favorite and is currently tied for ninth place in the conference standings and is on a two-game losing streak following its fall Friday night at Arizona State.

Cam Rising finally played again after recovering from a hand injury, but he was terrible, throwing three interceptions.

It’s hard to count out the Utes (4-1, 1-2 Big 12) because coach Kyle Whittingham and his staff tend to figure things out. They will also have 3-0 records against two of the teams currently in the three-way battle for first place at the top of the conference. The Utes have a November stretch against No. 14 BYU, at Colorado and against No. 11 Iowa State.

It’s looking increasingly likely that Utah, rather than the Cougars, will play the role of spoilsport when the Holy War is renewed on November 9th – which must already have Utes fans seething.

Weak tide

Who would have thought that the winner of the Alabama-Georgia game would be the team that appears to be in a more precarious position for the playoffs?

After a loss to Vanderbilt and another upset at home against South Carolina on Saturday, the Crimson Tide are very much looking for answers as they head into a three-game stretch against ranked SEC opponents.

“It just happens so often that we talk about finding a way to win. “The ball wasn’t going our way, but if we can find a way to win when your back is against the wall, even on the last drive there, I’m proud of these guys,” Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said .

Meanwhile, No. 5 Georgia has won two straight since its second-half rally in Tuscaloosa fell short. The Bulldogs were sloppy in the second half against Mississippi State, a strong contender to be the SEC’s worst team, but the Athens Bulldogs won 41-31 on Saturday after beating Auburn without drama last week.

Next week, the Tide travels to Tennessee for a game that just a few weeks ago looked like a clash between legitimate national title contenders, and now it looks like a game between two teams on the brink of extinction . After their loss at Arkansas last week, the Volunteers needed overtime to beat a Florida team whose coach Billy Napier was running out of time.

Maybe Alabama’s porous defense is the tonic Tennessee’s lackluster offense needs. After Tennessee, Alabama hosts No. 21 Missouri and moves on to No. 13 LSU after an open date.

Tennessee has to go to Georgia later. If the Vols can split these two games and win the rest – beware the finale at Vanderbilt – they should be strong candidates for an at-large bid and could even slip into the SEC title game.

So much remains to be resolved, but it’s becoming increasingly unlikely that several top-ranked SEC teams will part ways with the rest of the conference. The better choice appears to be for the SEC to send the CFP selection committee a series of three-loss team resumes.

Next week’s monster SEC game could provide clarity on how big the deadlock will be at the top of the conference: Georgia faces No. 1 Texas, which beat No. 18 Oklahoma 34-3. The Longhorns appear to be the No. 1 team in the country by any measure.

Aside from a really bad first half against Alabama, the Bulldogs appeared to be the second-best team in the conference, but were far from the juggernaut expected. Think of it this way: Less than a month ago, the SEC had six teams in the top seven of the AP Poll. By the end of next week, all of these teams will suffer at least one loss if Georgia beats Texas.

Or if Texas wins, Georgia, Ole Miss and loser Tennessee-Alabama will all suffer two losses.

Scheduling is everything

The schedule has worked out very well, allowing the ACC to have multiple teams with double-digit wins, perhaps even two undefeated teams, in its championship game.

No. 6 Miami does not play any of the other teams — No. 10 Clemson, No. 22 Pitt and No. 25 SMU — that currently have a conference loss. Clemson only plays Pitt in this group. The undefeated Panthers also get SMU.

A Miami-Clemson ACC Championship has to be the ACC’s dream scenario as the Hurricanes and Tigers both have at least 11 wins.

(Top photo by Ashton Porter: Ali Gradischer / Getty Images)