Alabama and Ohio State fans should be paying close attention to how USC fares in the Pac-12 Championship game Friday night against Utah.
With the College Football Playoff picture rounding into shape, the final spot in the four-team court likely will come down to USC, Ohio State, or perhaps Alabama.
Georgia, Michigan, and TCU are all going 12-0 into their respective conference championship games. One would expect those to be the three highest-ranked teams going into the penultimate seed going into Tuesday night’s College Football Playoff, and it’s likely in that order. While the Dawgs, Wolverines, and Frogs can all afford to lose the title game, the same cannot be said of USC in the Pac-12.
So… what happens if the Trojans fall to the Utah Uts for the second time this season on Friday?
Can Alabama or Ohio State make the college football game with USC losing?
While one could argue in favor of Michigan over Georgia for first place in Tuesday night’s rankings, fourth place would likely be USC, fifth place likely would be Ohio State, and moving up to sixth place could be Alabama.
Since the Buckeyes and Crimson Tide are not playing in Championship Weekend, they will wait what happens Friday night in Las Vegas to find out their playoff fate. If USC wins, it’s over…
A twice-lost USC team, a Pac-12 runner-up that has fallen to Utah twice in a single season, does not make the College Football Playoff team. If they fell to another Pac-12 team like Oregon, Washington, or whoever, things could be different. In the simplest possible terms, USC must beat Utah in Las Vegas on Friday to make the College Football Playoff game for the first time ever.
Should the Trojans lose, it would likely put the Buckeyes in a position to secure that final spot. They may have fallen apart at the seams in the fourth quarter against Michigan, but this is one of the best losses of the season for any playoff-opposing College Football team. Ohio State will need Michigan to beat Purdue in Indianapolis, but it’s the best team with an outside chance of getting in.
As for Alabama, they’re a two-time losing best, non-division champ that’s still somehow in that thing. Oh, and the Crimson Tide would have a Bama bump to be one of the last two teams, despite losing to Tennessee and LSU during the season. However, Alabama would need more than losing USC to be able to get in. Georgia and Michigan should win, plus UCLA might need to lose to Kansas State…
In the end, the selection committee will try to convince us that six teams are still alive for the playoff when, in fact, only five have a real chance. Georgia and Michigan are pretty much locks, as TCU is one too. It all comes down to USC. If the Trojans beat the Utes, they will enter. And if they lose, Ohio State enters. Alabama would need total chaos to have a chance.
USC could potentially get a No. 4 seed, and Ohio State still has a chance, but Alabama mostly bargains.
For more College Football news, analysis, opinion and unique coverage by FanSided, including the Heisman Trophy and College Football, be sure to bookmark these pages.
[ad_2]
