College Football Playoff: 2015 Dark Horse Conference Champion Contenders

Dec 5, 2014; Santa Clara, CA, USA; The Oregon Ducks players celebrate after their Pac-12 Championship game against the Arizona Wildcats at Levi

The College Football Playoff has already made one thing abundantly clear – you need to win your conference if you want a legitimate shot at one of the four playoff spots.

RELATED: Way Too Early Conference Championship Game Predictions

Particularly if you are in a Power-5 conference, getting to and winning your conference championship game is of the utmost importance for playoff consideration. The committee served notice last season by excluding the Big 12 (who does not have a championship game) despite TCU probably being a better playoff choice than at least one of the four who were selected.

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Every season there are plenty of things that go as planned….Alabama being in contention to win the SEC, Oregon scoring a ton of points on their way to a Pac-12 championship, Ohio State ripping through their conference schedule…but there are also surprises.

Every conference has that team, that one team who everyone looks at and says, “You know, these guys could be trouble this season.”  Nobody has them picked to win it, but everyone is wet pants scared to play them, especially at a crucial time of year.

Here’s a look at one team from each conference who fits that bill, and who could be considered a dark horse to come out of nowhere and take down the reigning champs on their way to a possible playoff berth.

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