Three And Out: Indiana's Playoff Hopes, Dangerous Florida And Surprising Sun Devils
We have reached the penultimate weekend of the college football regular season, and the race for the College Football Playoff is as clear as mud. No. 1 Oregon has clinched a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game, but that is the only Power Four conference title game that has a participant set in stone.
The other participant is up in the air, but this weekend’s matchup between No. 5 Indiana and No. 2 Ohio State in Columbus will go a long way toward changing that. The winner will have to win next weekend, and it’s in. Simple. There are other scenarios if upsets happen on rivalry weekend, but we will cross that bridge when we come to it.
What should you look for this weekend? Let’s break it down in this week’s Three and Out.
Indiana is not in a do-or-die situation
I’ve heard folks say that the undefeated Hoosiers have to win this weekend or they’d be out of the College Football Playoff. I know that the committee makes it up as they go along (even though they’ll never say that publicly), but there’s no way that a one-loss Big Ten team with its only loss coming to Ohio State on the road will miss the CFP.
None.
Indiana Hoosiers QB Kurtis Rourke. (Photo by James Black/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Spare me the strength of schedule response. Yes, the Hoosiers’ SOS is No. 109 in the country, but games still matter. Nine of their 10 wins have been by 14 or more points. Translation: They don’t "play down" to their competition. Do you know who does? Every team behind them in the CFP standings other than No. 19 Army.
I believe that they can actually lose to Ohio State and Oregon, but that would take some dominoes to fall in order to get to Indy and they’d probably have to lose to the Ducks in a close game.
Ole Miss better watch out
I’ve been saying it for the last few weeks … Florida is dangerous. The Gators upset LSU last weekend, I believe would have upset Georgia a few weeks ago if quarterback DJ Lagway hadn’t suffered a hamstring injury and I have belief in coach Billy Napier - who started this season on the hot seat.
Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
The defensive front was ferocious last weekend and freshman running back Jadan Baugh has found a groove.
A bowl berth is on the line for Napier and the Gators, and reaching that mark while destroying the ninth-ranked Rebels CFP chances would further appease boosters and influencers who are desperate for a winner.
The biggest game that nobody is talking about
The eyes of the Big 12 are on No. 14 BYU and Colorado (for obvious reasons), but there’s a narrative out west that you should should be paying attention to - the job that Kenny Dillingham has done at No. 21 Arizona State this season. The Sun Devils were picked to finish last in the conference in the media poll before the season but are in control of their own CFP destiny heading into Saturday afternoon’s game vs. BYU.
Wait, what? Arizona State could make the CFP?
Yep.
Wins over BYU, Arizona and the Big 12 Championship Game (probably Colorado) will get them into the big dance. It’s one of the most incredible Cinderella stories of the season, and nobody seems to be talking about it.