College Football Playoff Bubble Watch: Could Deion Sanders, Colorado sneak into field?

On Saturday, whereas Deion Sanders and Colorado sat at house and Travis Hunter did a Heisman Trophy media tour of nationwide pregame exhibits, the Buffaloes had been among the many greatest winners within the Faculty Soccer Playoff race.

Iowa State misplaced at house to Texas Tech and trimmed the record of undefeated Large 12 groups to only one. Not lengthy after, Kansas State tripped up in Houston, struggling its second Large 12 loss and falling behind the Buffaloes within the convention standings after beating Colorado final month.

Now Colorado, which gained a single convention sport a season in the past and trailed 28-0 at halftime to Nebraska in Week 2, has an actual path to the Playoff. That is the good thing about the present iteration of the Playoff: Each convention race has relevance. And the Buffaloes are proper within the thick of the Large 12 race.

Two weeks in the past, six groups within the league had one convention loss or fewer. After the inevitable chaos arrived in essentially the most wide-open energy convention, there are solely three. And one in all them is Colorado.

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BYU is the Large 12’s lone remaining undefeated staff, and the Buffaloes are actually tied with Iowa State in second place. The Buffaloes journey to Texas Tech this weekend and end the season with video games in opposition to three groups sitting within the backside 4 of the convention. Neither BYU nor Iowa State will face Colorado.

Iowa State nonetheless has Kansas State and Cincinnati, two groups within the high half of the convention. BYU nonetheless has a very good likelihood to complete 12-0 however travels to rival Utah and Arizona State and hosts enhancing Kansas and Houston.

Colorado large receiver-defensive again Travis Hunter is likely one of the favorites within the Heisman Trophy race. (Ron Chenoy / Imagn Photos)

All Colorado wants to manage its destiny for the Playoff is one Iowa State loss. If it doesn’t get it, it would nonetheless qualify for the Large 12 Championship Recreation through tiebreakers. (Observe: How the tiebreakers are utilized doubtless will rely on if BYU loses and, if it does, who it loses to.)

At that time, Sanders and the Buffs could be 60 minutes away from the Playoff.

It’s a brand new world of school soccer, and no energy convention staff might be counted out till the center of convention play arrives. Colorado resides proof of that.

Every week, Bubble Watch will study who’s in, who’s out and who’s someplace within the center main as much as the primary 12-team Faculty Soccer Playoff. It’s a practical snapshot of the sphere, not a projection. The 5 highest-ranked convention champions will get an computerized Playoff berth. Discover Austin Mock’s mannequin’s bracket projections right here.

ACC

Clemson’s ugly house loss to Louisville delivered a large hit to the ACC’s odds of placing two groups into the bracket.

However it does remove the potential of an unpleasant tiebreaker situation amongst three groups undefeated in convention play. Clemson doesn’t have a win that can influence the committee and has two losses. The Tigers will want plenty of assist to land an at-large bid in the event that they don’t win the ACC.

SMU has a good resume however should come up wanting an at-large bid at 11-1 if it might’t win the ACC. Miami is the league’s solely staff with an important shot to take action. If chaos strikes within the final month of the season, Pitt and Louisville are nonetheless looming to steal an ACC title sport spot.

Large Ten

Ohio State’s win over Penn State was a large win for the Large Ten. The percentages of touchdown three groups within the Playoff seem like a close to certainty, and 4 is nicely inside attain. Indiana continues to be dominant, attending to 9-0 with a median margin of victory of 32.9 factors and successful all 9 video games by at the least 14.

An Ohio State loss to Penn State may need made the Indiana-Ohio State sport on Nov. 23 a Playoff elimination sport. As an alternative, each groups might nonetheless have legit Playoff hopes with a loss, though it’ll be a nervy Choice Sunday if the loser doesn’t play for the title in Indianapolis.

One of many league’s high 4 groups could also be very unhappy when the ultimate rankings drop, but it surely’s onerous to think about anybody else within the league enjoying its means into authentic Playoff competition.

Large 12

Kansas State’s and Iowa State’s losses opened the door for an impossibly horny proposition for the Playoff (see above), but it surely did main harm to the league’s hopes of touchdown an at-large bid. Iowa State is the league’s solely staff with an actual shot, but it surely must run the desk and hope Kansas State retains successful to make an Iowa State win in Farmageddon look pretty much as good as attainable.

Even then, it would take BYU attending to the Large 12 title sport and shedding to Iowa State, Colorado or Ok-State for the league to get multiple staff.

SEC

The SEC has 5 groups with one convention loss. Good luck finding out who makes it to Atlanta. The race for the automated bid goes to be unpredictable down the stretch.

The 4 groups “within the combine” have an actual shot to play their means into or out of the sphere in the course of the season’s last month, particularly because the ACC and Large 12 had been coughing up bids on an upset-filled Saturday when Clemson, Iowa State and Kansas State all misplaced.

Vanderbilt and Missouri are looming with two convention losses, however there are too many groups between them and the highest for both to moderately attain Atlanta. Plus, each have ugly losses (Georgia State for Vanderbilt, A&M/Alabama for Mizzou) that make an at-large bid appear nearly not possible.

Group of 5

Operating again Ashton Jeanty’s Heisman marketing campaign has slowed in latest weeks, however Boise State’s Playoff hopes have surged as competitors has fallen off. And if we get a shock winner within the Large 12 … might the Broncos sneak into the No. 4 seed with the Group of 5 computerized bid? It’s attainable, however we’ll have a greater thought of the chances when the committee releases its first rankings on Tuesday. If Boise State is ranked larger than any Energy 4 convention champion on Choice Sunday, it’s going to get the bye into the quarterfinals because the No. 4 seed.

Boise State has an opportunity to keep away from a rematch with UNLV if Colorado State retains successful. The Rams are tied atop the Mountain West standings at 4-0 and not one of the three play one another within the last month of the season, so it might come all the way down to a tiebreaker if Colorado State loses. Military continues to be looming within the American however doesn’t have the resume power of Boise State and appears unlikely to crack the committee’s Prime 25, regardless of being one in all simply 5 remaining undefeated FBS groups.

Navy and Memphis: Thanks for taking part in. The Midshipmen misplaced for the second consecutive week, and Memphis went on the street and gave up 44 factors in a loss to UTSA. These two are faraway from the Playoff dialog.

Others

The Irish didn’t want any extra assist, however they received it anyway from the ACC and Large 12.

Mock’s mannequin provides the Irish an 89 p.c likelihood to make the sphere, and Notre Dame retains transferring up the seeding strains, too. Military would be the Irish’s hardest remaining sport, and rival USC continues to slip, falling to 4-5 with a loss Saturday at Washington.

(Prime picture: Christian Petersen / Getty Photos)