College Football Playoff potential party-crashers after Week 11 rankings
By Josh Yourish
No. 12 Oregon State
With five unbeaten teams, it may seem a little crazy to already mention a two-loss team. Especially when a two-loss team has never made the playoff, but this year could be different. Of the five unbeaten teams, none look unbeatable, and most of the one-loss teams will soon have their second.
Ole Miss is playing Georgia this week and are 11-point underdogs, and Penn State is a 5.5-point underdog to Michigan at home. Texas’s quarterback has a shoulder sprain and their first loss is looking worse and worse by the week. Oh and do I even need to mention Louisville?
So, that leads me to the Beavers, the two-loss team with the most clear path to the College Football Playoff ever. Next up on Oregon State’s schedule is Stanford, followed by No. 5 Washington and No. 6 Oregon. If they win out, they’ll likely have a rematch with Washington in the Pac-12 championship and three straight wins over top 10 teams to close out the season would force the committee’s hand.
The Beavers rank 33rd in yards per play allowed and 16th in yards per play. Their pass defense ranks 64th which is a big problem and the reason that they lost to Arizona and Washington State. That will continue to be an issue against Washington and Oregon, but the path is laid out before DJ Uiagalelei to take Oregon State into the top 4 after failing to extend Clemson’s ACC dominance.
