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

4. Play a ranked opponent in conference championship game

Northern Illinois became the first mid-major team to bust into the BCS without a perfect record when they won the MAC in 2012. Their only defeat came in the season opener, in an 18-17 finish on neutral turf at Soldier Field in Chicago. Though the Hawkeyes went on to close out the year with a 4-8 record, the loss was not held against NIU largely because they were able to get a statement win in the conference title game.

The Huskies took on a Kent State team that was actually ranked higher than them entering the MAC title showdown in Detroit. No. 19 Northern Illinois down the No. 18 Golden Flashes in a 44-37 double-overtime thriller at Ford Field. That win bumped up the Huskies into the top 16 of the final BCS standings, triggering a clause that mandated their inclusion in the BCS field.

Last year, UCF and Memphis were both ranked when they played for the AAC crown. The same was true of the Boise State-Fresno State duel in the snow on Championship Saturday this year. The College Football Playoff selection committee has done a decent job of slotting Group of Five teams with solid records into the lower reaches of the Top 25, and that makes a major difference.

With two teams in the teens of the BCS standings, the MAC had a perfect storm in 2012. That will need to happen again with a pair of highly-ranked conference foes playing for a Group of Five championship.