Stanford Cardinal keep outside shot at playoff with thrilling win over Notre Dame
The Stanford Cardinal just keep hanging around, even after everyone tries to write them out of the 2015 College Football Playoff picture.
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It might take a miracle combination of wins and losses during championship week, but the No. 9 Stanford Cardinal refuse to let their playoff hopes die. An instant classic game with a last second 38-36 win against No. 6 Notre Dame was their latest proclamation of hope.
The Pac-12 is going to have a difficult time convincing the playoff selection committee that they deserve a team in the four team playoffs, but if anyone can make a case it would be Stanford. The 10-2 Cardinal finished off the regular season with an impressive win over the Fighting Irish, and are now set to take on USC in the Pac-12 Championship Game.
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A two-loss Pac-12 team will be a stretch to make the playoffs, but Stanford has a strong resume. The right combination of losses above them could get them in.
If Florida were to upset Alabama in the SEC Championship game, and North Carolina were to beat Clemson for the ACC title, Stanford could boast a better resume than both the Gators or Tar Heels. Even one of those two upsets happening may leave enough room for Stanford to get in.
The case for Stanford is simple – 11 wins (if they beat USC for the second time this season), with other quality wins coming against Arizona, UCLA, Notre Dame and Cal. It would be hard to argue that their schedule was one of the toughest in the nation.
The case against the Cardinal isn’t even that compelling. This may be a two-loss team trying to convince the committee, but the losses coming against Northwestern (10-2) and Oregon (9-3) aren’t as bad as losses by other potential playoff teams.
Having an exciting team like Stanford in the playoffs would only be a good thing. A potential matchup with an undefeated Iowa team or red-hot Oklahoma would be must-see material.
The playoff committee’s job is to select the four best teams in the nation. Stanford isn’t one of those right now, but by the end of Championship Week, they very well could be. They certainly played that way against Notre Dame.