Washington State Football: Road to the College Football Playoff 11/22

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Kyler Murray, Oklahoma SoonersWashington State football. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images) /

Outside looking in

#5 Georgia (10-1)

Remaining Games: vs. Georgia Tech, SEC Championship vs. Alabama.

Thoughts: Georgia can throw a monkey wrench into any shot Washington State has. If Georgia runs the table, including beating Bama in the SEC Championship Game, the Bulldogs are in (and so is a one-loss Crimson Tide). At that point, the Bulldogs probably bump the Big 10 champion, the SEC gets two teams in again, and the outcry to change the current system will be loud.

#6 Oklahoma (10-1)

Remaining Games: at West Virginia, Big 12 Championship?

Thoughts: Oklahoma, the current Big-12 leaders, are a slightly more respected Washington State. That’s odd considering the Sooners have beaten one ranked team this year and lost in a 48-45 barnburner at home to Texas.

The Big-12 championship matchup is more convoluted than the PAC-12 South was last week. It may or may not work in the Cougs favor. If West Virginia pulls off the upset, Washington State (should they win) will move up to sixth. If the Sooners win, they likely get a rematch with Texas, which give WSU another shot.

#7 LSU (9-2)

Remaining Games: at Texas A&M

Thoughts: For LSU to be one of the top four, everyone else needs to fall apart. The odds of that happening are infinitesimal. If Washington State runs the table, they jump over LSU. As a matter of fact, LSU could win their next two games and still drop a few spots.

#9 Central Florida (10-0)

Remaining Games: at South Florida, AAC Championship Game (likely vs. Houston)

Thoughts: To keep it simple. UCF has a smaller chance of playing for a national title than LSU has. No matter how well the Knights do in their next two games, it would require a major change in thinking to even consider UCF. Just another reason to go to an eight-team playoff.

#10 Ohio State (10-1)

Remaining Games: vs. Michigan, Big-10 Championship?

Thoughts: This is one of the two teams (Georgia, the other) that should worry Cougars fans. If the Buckeyes win out the regular season, which includes the finale’ against Michigan, they easily jump Wazzu. As stated above, Washington State’s best case scenario is for the winner of the UM-OSU game to lose in the Big-10 title game against Northwestern.

Next. How the Cougars matchup against each UW position unit. dark

Bottom line, the Cougars will need some help to make the final four.

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