Is your favorite team making the College Football Playoff? Here’s where things stand, for now.
DALLAS — It’s been a good year for college football in Texas. In fact, among the 12 teams that will make the College Football Playoff, at least two from Texas are a sure-fire bets to make the field, at least one other controls their own destiny and a fourth could play the role of Cinderella.
And that’s not even including the Texas Longhorns, who still have a chance, albeit a longshot, to grab a bid.
Here’s where the contending teams from Texas currently stand, as of Saturday, Nov. 29:
Texas A&M
The Aggies lost to rival Texas on Friday night, but it’s not all bad in College Station: At 11-1, Texas A&M has all but clinched their spot in the College Football Playoff. And if you’re really trying to look at the bright side, they get an extra week off by not having to play in the SEC Championship Game.
Verdict: In
Texas Tech
The Red Raiders blew the brakes off West Virginia on Saturday, 49-0, to finish 11-1 on the regular season. The victory also officially clinched Tech’s spot in the Big 12 Championship Game at AT&T Stadium, which, no doubt, will be packed to the brim with Red Raiders (and likely a few BYU fans, too). Texas Tech would do well to avoid stumbling against BYU, which it handled easily in Lubbock earlier this season. But even with a loss, Tech will likely clinch an at-large bid in the playoff.
Verdict: Pretty much in
SMU
Well look who it is … SMU stumbled early this season, but a win over Miami sent the Mustangs into overdrive, and they’ve dominated the ACC ever since. Now, they’re one win away (at California on Saturday night) from securing a spot in the ACC Championship Game. Likewise, Virginia can clinch a spot in the title game with a win over Virginia Tech on Saturday night. If SMU wins the ACC Championship Game, they’ll clinch automatically clinch a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Verdict: Win and they’re in
North Texas
The Mean Green may have lost their coach (for next season, at least), but Eric Morris still has his squad in position to clinch a Cinderella spot in the playoff. At 11-1, North Texas will face Tulane in the American Championship Game. A win over Tulane would do two things: It would make North Texas a conference champion, and it would, in all likelihood, propel them above James Madison in the eyes of the playoff committee. The latter is crucial since the playoff includes the top five conference champions. James Madison is likely to win the Sun Belt Conference, and the Dukes have jockeyed with UNT in the AP poll this season. So while it’s not 100% clear where the committee views UNT compared to JMU, a Mean Green win over ranked Tulane should place UNT higher — and in the playoff.
Verdict: Win and they’re likely in
Texas
Steve Sarkisian stated his case, and honestly, he might have a point: If the Longhorns had not scheduled (and lost to) top-ranked Ohio State this season, they’d likely have a spot in the playoff secured. On the flip side, if they hadn’t lost to 3-8 Florida, the same could be said. As it stands now (Saturday afternoon), Texas would need losses from Oklahoma, Alabama, Vanderbilt, and BYU and probably Notre Dame to grab a bid. Stranger things have happened, and maybe it won’t even require that much.
Verdict: Chaos reigns, and maybe they’re in
Best of the rest
TCU and Houston won’t make the playoff, but both programs have solid seasons. Houston wrapped up a 9-3 regular season with a win over Baylor (5-7) on Saturday. TCU was looking to get to 8-4, hosting Cincinnati at home Saturday afternoon.