College Football Playoff 2017: New Year’s Six projections entering Week 11

Playstation Fiesta Bowl

Playstation Fiesta Bowl: Washington  (at-large) vs. TCU (at-large)
Where: University of Phoenix Stadium (Glendale, Ariz.)
When: Dec. 30 at 4:00 p.m. ET on ESPN
Last week’s projection: Notre Dame vs. Oklahoma 

One week at a time.

That’s what it’s going to take to see two one-loss teams to put themselves back into playoff contention. Luckily, for Washington and TCU this week provides the boost they need to get back into the heart of the playoff hunt. On two different nights, 24 hours apart we will see both TCU and Washington either take a step towards the playoff or see playoffs and national title dreams die on the gridiron.

For the Washington Huskies, this final stretch of the season is where their season really begins. This week it’s Stanford and in a few weeks, it’s a home game against Washington State in the Apple Cup. They haven’t been the dominant force out of the great northwest that they were a year ago but a win on the road at Stanford would make things very interesting and announce Washington’s arrival into the playoff discussion.

TCU’s loss to Iowa State was just a small dent in their season as bigger games and situations out of their control would give them a chance to make a late run for playoff spot. Here they are with a game on the road at Oklahoma and a chance to be right back in the playoff hunt and possibly grabbing a Big 12 title game spot while they’re at it.

Week 11 outlook: Like a few other teams that are playing this week, a loss puts you out of the playoff but a win keeps you in and helps you even more in conference. For Washington, a win sets up an Apple Cup showdown that will decide the Pac-12 North. A win for TCU and they will walk into the last two weeks of the season with a chance to host a de-facto home game for the Big 12 title in December as it takes place in Arlington. A loss by either or both and you can kiss all the national title hopes and dreams goodbye.