College Football: Group of 5 contenders for College Football Playoff

College Football: Group of 5 teams with playoff chances in 2021

Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Luke Fickell smiles during the championship trophy presentation following the American Athletic Conference championship football game against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020, at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati. The Cincinnati Bearcats won, 27-24.Aac Championship Tulsa Golden Hurricane At Cincinnati Bearcats Football Dec 19 /

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Dec 31, 2020; Tucson, AZ, USA; San Jose State Spartans quarterback Nick Starkel (17) against the Ball State Cardinals during the Arizona Bowl at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

San Jose State Spartans

As I stated in the last sentence of the first slide, this is the team on this list with the smallest chance of actually making the College Football Playoff. I have nothing against San Jose State, it just seems unlikely that they’ll go undefeated and even less likely that they’ll go undefeated and get a playoff bid.

That being said, this team finds itself listed here for a couple of reasons. Firstly, they have a schedule that is relatively conducive for a playoff berth.

The main backbone of their playoff hopes is an early matchup against the USC Trojans, a game that would look great on their resume. That being said, the likelihood of them winning out with USC and a slippery Western Michigan team on their schedule is not very high.

They only lost a single game last year and they’ve got their quarterback, Nick Starkel, returning for 2021. If they are able to pick off USC early in the year and win the rest of their games, they might have a shot at the College Football Playoff.

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