BYU Football: 6 games that can pave path for Cougars to playoff

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A Bearcats loss to Tulsa would make BYU the highest-ranked non-power conference program. Mandatory Credit: Tim Flores-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Cincinnati loses at Tulsa in Week 15

As representatives of the American Athletic Conference (AAC), the Bearcats have taken the league’s mantle of proving the Group of 5’s worthiness for 2020. It used to be Central Florida, and at times SMU and Memphis seemed poised, and now without meaningful out-of-conference matchups, the Bearcats are the AAC’s poster child this season.

That changes, however, with a loss for the No. 7 Bearcats to Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane is now ranked No. 24 (its best mark in a decade) and own wins against UCF, SMU and Tulane after a season-opening competitive loss to No. 15 Oklahoma State. It wouldn’t be that far-fetched to see a Tulsa upset victory in Week 15.

3. Clemson loses to Notre Dame in ACC title game

Everyone knows that Clemson was without several defensive starters and star quarterback Trevor Lawrence in its overtime loss to Notre Dame earlier this season. It’s conceivable that if the No. 2 Fighting Irish are competitive in an ACC title game grudge match with the No. 3 Tigers, both teams will advance to the CFP.

BYU fans want Notre Dame to win this one, thus giving the CFP Committee greater reason to exclude the Tigers. In this scenario, Clemson would finish the regular season with two losses. There’s no guarantee that BYU would overtake the Tigers, but an ugly Clemson loss to the Fighting Irish might help.

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