What Kansas upset of Oklahoma means for College Football Playoff
Kansas stunned the college football world with an upset of No. 6 Oklahoma football. What does it mean for the playoff picture?
What makes college football the most exciting sport in the world is that you never know what’s going to happen on any given Saturday.
Oklahoma football learned that lesson, losing on the road to Kansas on Saturday as a two-touchdown underdog.
The Jayhawks were without their starting quarterback and trailed 33-32 with around two minutes left. Jason Bean, normally the backup quarterback, put together his finest hour on a college football field as he completed a clutch fourth-down pass that led to a Devin Neal rushing touchdown after Oklahoma football decided to let Kansas score.
Bean also had a 38-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to help the Jayhawks notch their biggest win in years. For the second year in a row, Kansas football is going bowling. Lance Leipold also has a win over a top-six team.
That was all tremendous. But in the broader landscape of college football, what does this loss mean for the College Football Playoff?
What does Oklahoma loss mean for playoff hopes?
It means that Washington and Florida State control their own destiny. Before the Oklahoma football loss, there was a scenario where five Power-5 conference champions could have ended up undefeated — Michigan or Ohio State, Georgia, Florida State, Washington, and OU.
That means one of those five programs would have been left out of the College Football Playoff. Now, if the Pac-12, ACC, Big Ten, and SEC all have an undefeated champion, those teams will make the playoff.
Next. Electrifying TD run by Jason Bean. dark
Unless one of them loses, it’s not likely that Oklahoma or Texas — the Big 12 champion — makes the field. It doesn’t mean that Texas and OU are out. They just can’t afford a loss and they need some other teams to lose too.