What must Group of Five teams do to reach College Football Playoff?

UCF was snubbed by the committee after going perfect two straight years. So what does it take for Group of Five teams to reach the College Football Playoff?

UCF capped their regular season with a 56-41 victory over Memphis for their second consecutive American Athletic Conference title. With the announcement of the College Football Playoff field on Selection Sunday, the Knights were left outside of the four-team playoff field and ranked outside the top six in the selection committee’s Top 25.

Despite holding the nation’s longest winning streak with 25 victories in a row, UCF remained at No. 8 in the final College Football Playoff Top 25. Josh Heupel’s team was left to wonder what they have to do to get any respect from the 13-member College Football Playoff committee, as they remained stuck behind a two-loss Michigan team that failed to win their division.

This raises a legitimate question. Even with such an established pedigree, UCF’s final rankings indicates that the Knights were never seriously considered by the selection committee. What, then, does a Group of Five team have to do to be taken seriously?

Ultimately, it might require expansion to an eight-team field for a Group of Five champion to earn a bid into the College Football Playoff or whatever succeeds the current system. But instead of going into that counterfactual here, let’s look instead within the parameters of the current four-team setup. Here are the combination of factors it will take for a mid-major to finally break through and finish in the top four.