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5 steps for Group of 5 team to make 2018 College Football Playoff

By Luke Feliciano

ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 01: McKenzie Milton #10 of the UCF Knights reacts after defeating the Auburn Tigers 34-27 to win the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 1, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 01: McKenzie Milton #10 of the UCF Knights reacts after defeating the Auburn Tigers 34-27 to win the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 1, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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UCF came close to reaching the College Football Playoff last season and went undefeated. What will it take for a Group of 5 team to qualify for a playoff spot?

To date, a Group of Five team has yet to be a part of the College Football Playoff, which will now enter its fifth installment in 2018.

The committee is unlikely to allow a non-Power Five school to join the fray unless special circumstances exist. However, it is possible in the course of the playoff that eventually, a Group of Five school is able to set a new standard.

How could it happen, though? Here are five steps a non-traditional team would have to follow to make a bid to join some of college football’s elite.

5. An undefeated season

This is probably the most obvious step on the list. Without question, if a Group of Five team even wants a chance at competing in the playoff, it would surely have to go undefeated.

After all, while the level of difficulty of winning 12 regular season games is astronomical, Central Florida accomplished the feat last season. Western Michigan came close by going undefeated in the 2016 regular season, but the Broncos ultimately fell in the Cotton Bowl as the only blemish to their record.

Group of Five teams are at an inherent disadvantage because they don’t have the built-in strength of schedule like Power Five teams have. To compensate for this, Group of Five teams are forced to secure matchups with top-tier teams early in the season before conference play begins.

This remains to be a risky endeavor because teams have a much higher likelihood of suffering an early-season defeat as opposed to pulling off an upset.

Two Group of Five teams, in particular, UCF and Florida Atlantic, added marquee games in the early part of the season to boost their strength of schedule.

The Knights play two Power Five teams in 2018 — North Carolina and Pittsburgh. Those teams aren’t necessarily the cream of the crop, but its a start. The Owls have a Week 1 meeting with Oklahoma, a Sooners team that is a popular pick to claim the Big 12. Ironically enough, the aforementioned teams play each other this season as well.

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