College Football Playoff: 5 dark horse teams who can make Playoff

Oct 31, 2015; Memphis, TN, USA; Memphis Tigers defensive end Latarius Brady (14) and Memphis Tigers defensive lineman Ricky Hunter (91) after the game against the Tulane Green Wave at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. Memphis Tigers beat Tulane Green Wave 41 – 13. Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports

If Memphis goes undefeated, they deserve a chance at the College Football Playoffs. That’s why we have the playoff committee, right? This is for the little guys everywhere. We’ve seen Boise State, TCU (MWC), UCF, Louisville, Utah (MWC) and West Virginia all win BCS bowl games over traditional powerhouses many times over the last decade.

The main gripe that comes with the Memphis Tigers is obviously their scheduling. Their eight opponents thus far have their strength of schedule at 52nd in the nation, which probably received a huge boost from playing Ole Miss. Note that their 52nd ranked schedule is still two spots above Iowa at 54. But they did take down Ole Miss, in a very convincing fashion. Despite their schedule, the computers are still giving them a fair share of love, ranking them at No. 15.

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Their remaining schedule will be tough, with road trips to undefeated Houston, and one loss Temple, both deemed top 25 opponents by the CFP committee. But before that road trip, they’ll have to get past Navy (6-1), with their lone loss coming from Notre Dame, the same goes for Temple as well.

It’ll come down to the AAC Championship game for them, where they’ll either see Temple or Cincinnati (5-3) again. At that point, they would have completed a fairly rigorous schedule for an AAC member. It’s no SEC or Pac-12 schedule, but that is one that many top power five teams might not make out alive.

Depending on what happens ahead of them, with Alabama, LSU, Baylor, TCU, Ohio State and Michigan State, all teams that play each other in one way or another, Memphis could be in decent shape to crack the top 10 in a few weeks, and if they win out, they certainly have a case.

Next: Stanford