Can Auburn make the Playoff?
There’s always a chance. It’s going to take a few breaks but it’s definitely still doable. The first nine weeks of the season have made it clear that parity is alive and well in college football. Nobody is unbeatable. Heck, Iowa State just pulled off a pair of Top 10 upsets in the span of a few weeks. The odds of their being less than four 1-loss or better teams at the end of the season continues to grow with every passing weekend.
If they’re able to make it through the remainder of the SEC gauntlet they’ll earn the right to be in the discussion. At this point that’s more than the Tigers could ask for. Ohio State is evidence that early season losses don’t drop you from consideration.
The College Football Playoff committee might actually be the biggest asset in the Tigers’ favor. It’s not polls or computers putting together the final four teams, it’s human beings that get to watch the games. While some schools will be finishing off mediocre in-conference cupcakes to end the season, the committee will see Auburn making statement win after statement win.
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Ultimately that’s the question that the committee had to wrestle with a year ago. What mattered more? The full body of work or a Conference Championship. What if Auburn can do both? What if Auburn can outclass the rest of the country in marquee wins and win their conference?
As things stand, we’ll put Auburn’s chances to makes the College Football Playoff at 20 percent.