Teams are beginning to focus on the College Football Playoff and conference championship week, but if they aren’t careful and overlook opponents, their postseason hopes could go down the drain. Here are those teams that could spoil it all during the rest of the season.
Arkansas
Arkansas has three ranked opponents to close the season in South Carolina, Texas and LSU. All could still be alive for the playoffs when they play, meaning that the 3-6 Razorbacks could ruin their seasons.
Auburn
Auburn could play spoiler in the Iron Bowl against Alabama. Alabama already has two losses, but it’s in the top three of the latest CFP rankings. Auburn could hand Alabama its third loss of the season, with said loss coming to an unranked team. While Alabama could still end up making the playoffs with a loss, Auburn could eliminate the Tide from the SEC title game and from receiving a first-round bye.
Baylor
Baylor plays three of the Big 12’s four highest ranked teams to close the season. A win from Baylor in any of the games could eliminate No. 10 BYU, No. 12 Texas Tech or No. 14 Houston from playoff contention.
Georgia State
Georgia State can play spoiler to Georgia Southern. The two schools are set to meet in Week 11 when the Eagles visit Atlanta. The two fan bases often debate who the real GSU is — and the rivalry is tied 6-6 on the gridiron. This year, Georgia State has a chance to knock Georgia Southern from atop the Sun Belt East standings and ruin its shot at a conference championship.
Illinois
Illinois is 6-3 on the season and not out of Big Ten title contention yet, but if the Fighting Illini want to stay alive, it’ll have to play spoiler against some ranked teams. The Illini can first ruin UCLA’s undefeated season with a primetime upset. Then Illinois could knock No. 15 Iowa from playoff and Big Ten title contention with a win.
Louisville
Louisville would love nothing more than playing spoiler to Kentucky’s CFP hopes. The Wildcats just suffered their second loss and still have to host the rival Cardinals in the season finale. If Louisville goes into Lexington and knocks Kentucky from the CFP picture, it could be one of the top moments in the rivalry’s history on the gridiron.
Michigan
Michigan has three ranked games to close the season and could play spoiler in all of them. If Michigan beats Oregon, it likely knocks the Ducks from CFP and Big Ten title contention. If Michigan beats UCLA, it could be the first loss of the season for the Bruins. If Michigan beats rival Ohio State, it could be the most detrimental blow for the worst season in the most recent 15 years of Buckeye football history.
Missouri State and Western Kentucky
Conference USA features a pair of teams that can play spoiler for similar reasons. Both Western Kentucky and Missouri State face Jacksonville State and Liberty down the stretch. Jacksonville State and Liberty are both undefeated in CUSA play with an outside shot at the College Football Playoff if things break their way. However, Western Kentucky and Missouri State could upset either the Gamecocks or Flames, adding a blemish to their conference records.
Oregon State
Oregon State can play spoiler to Boise State. The Beavers have the top quarterback-wide receiver duo in the Pac-12, but Boise State is the first-place team. When Oregon State visits the Broncos in Week 11, ESPN’s “College GameDay” will be in to cover a team that currently leads for the automatic bid to the College Football Playoff. Oregon State has a chance to not only ruin the “College GameDay” visit, but also knock Boise State from playoff contention.
SMU
SMU is unranked right now, but that could all change if it plays spoiler to a few playoff contending teams. First SMU plays one-loss Wake Forest with a chance to not only knock the Demon Deacons from playoff contention, but also climb up the ACC standings for a shot at a conference title berth. Then, SMU has a chance to hand Notre Dame its next loss. That would put the Fighting Irish in limbo as a two-loss team, potentially knocking Notre Dame from the top 12 where it would receive an automatic bid.
South Carolina
South Carolina could play spoiler to Georgia as it keeps its CFP hopes alive. Georgia is currently the nation’s No. 1 team and the only SEC team with one or fewer conference losses. If South Carolina knocks off the Bulldogs, it’ll create chaos in the SEC and Georgia could miss the conference title game due to tiebreaker scenarios amongst SEC teams with two conference losses.
Southern California
Southern California could play spoiler as it chases its own College Football Playoff hopes. The Trojans play current top-10 teams Indiana and UCLA down the stretch. If USC beats Indiana, it’ll hand the Hoosiers their second conference loss and potentially leave the defending national champions with zero ranked wins in the regular season. That could eliminate Indiana from the playoffs.
Regardless of the Indiana game, USC can still play spoiler to UCLA. UCLA could be undefeated when the schools match up, and a win by the Trojans could end UCLA’s chance to finish undefeated for the first time since 1954.
Texas A&M
Texas A&M’s season has been disappointing after the Aggies made a CFP appearance last year. However, the season isn’t over yet, as Texas A&M still has the chance to ruin CFP appearances for other teams.
The Aggies get Tennessee and Texas at home. Both teams have two SEC losses and are in the top-10 of the CFP rankings. If either loses to Texas A&M, they risk falling out of the SEC title race and the at-large playoff field.
UAB
UAB can shake up the conference title race in the American if it plays spoiler. While North Texas and UTSA play this week for first place in the American, both have to play UAB in the following weeks. UAB is a classic trap game for UTSA, especially if the Roadrunners knock off North Texas a week prior. UAB then closes the season with North Texas, and a UAB win could create tiebreakers that knock North Texas from the American title game.
Washington
Washington closes the season with Indiana and Oregon. The Huskies are only 5-4, but they were ranked in the early weeks of the season. Washington could play spoiler and ruin a pair of Big Ten teams’ CFP hopes with upset wins, adding a bright spot to a disappointing season.
Source: www.ncaa.com
