Once upon a time, one loss would have been enough to eliminate most teams from national title contention but with the new College Football Playoff, that outlook is a thing of the past. Three of the four teams in last year’s inaugural playoff had one loss including an Ohio State team that was left for dead after a Week 2 loss to Virginia Tech. They went on to win the national championship. With that theme in mind, here is a look at the one-loss teams that are still very much alive in this year’s College Football Playoff hunt.
No. 2 Alabama
The Tide were ranked fourth overall in the initial playoff rankings and climbed two spots to No. 2 with their dominant 30-16 win over previously undefeated LSU. That was supposed to be one of the biggest showdowns of the season but they rolled very easily. Junior running back Derrick Henry has put some heat on Tigers’ running back Leonard Fournette in the Heisman race and Alabama is now back in control of its own destiny. The loss to Ole Miss is nothing more than a distant memory.
The Tide will still have to win their remaining regular season games as well as the SEC Championship game in order to guarantee they reach the CFP. That starts this week with a tricky-but-manageable road trip to Starkville to face No. 17 Mississippi State. After that, it’s Charleston Southern, the Iron Bowl versus a beat down Auburn team and the SEC Championship. They’re in very good shape.
No. 5 Notre Dame
The Fighting Irish have quietly fought their way back in to the CFP picture with four straight wins since their 24-22 loss to Clemson. That defeat doesn’t look all that bad at all considering the Tigers are ranked No. 1 in the country by the playoff committee. Remember how Notre Dame was supposed to be in the dumps after losing starting quarterback Malik Zaire in Week 2? They haven’t missed a beat.
/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/4055122/1A0SMCG.0.gif)
They cruised to a 42-30 win over Pittsburgh this past week to climb within one spot of the top four. While they still have to beat Wake Forest and Boston College over the next two weeks, they are scheduled to face Stanford in their season finale in a game that could very well determine whether or not they get in to the CFP as a team that is back in the hunt. Win out and they’re going to the playoff.
No. 7 Stanford
Speaking of the Cardinal, Stanford appears to be on the same track that Ohio State took to its national championship a year ago as they have overcome an ugly early loss to Northwestern with eight straight wins. They’re not only back in the hunt but in the driver’s seat in the Pac-12. The Cardinal will host Oregon and California the next two weeks before its showdown with Notre Dame. Just like Notre Dame, if they can find a way to sweep their remaining schedule – including a Pac-12 Championship win – they will be in the mix. Beating a top 10 team (Notre Dame) and winning the Pac-12 championship will get them there.
[related_post_one]
No. 10 Utah
The Utes are a peg below Alabama, Notre Dame and Stanford in terms of the CFP outlook but they are still definitely in the hunt. Considering their remaining schedule, there is a chance they could emerge as a dark horse to make it…if they win out. Utah is coming off back-to-back double-digit wins since its loss to USC and they have enough “ammo” on the schedule to get into the top four. For starters, a win over No. 19 UCLA next week will be enough to put them in position to contend for the Pac-12 title. We can basically assume that the Utes will sweep the remainder of their regular season (games other than UCLA) and then if they beat Stanford in the Pac-12 title game – adding another win against a Top 10 team – they’ll earn some consideration to get into the CFP.
