With Oklahoma State All But Eliminated, College Football Playoff Down to 11

Oklahoma State will not make this year’s College Football Playoff. It is one of 119 teams that have already been eliminated, barring something we’ve never really seen before.

The parameters: One-loss Power 5 conference champions or one-loss Notre Dame, zero-loss non-Power 5 conference champions and possibly a two-loss Power 5 team with one of the best schedules in recent memory (see below). Oklahoma State cannot fit into any of those categories.

Here are the teams that lasted until Week 11.

• Oklahoma State
• Ohio State
• Penn State
• Virginia Tech

And here are the teams that are still in the hunt.

• Alabama
• Auburn
• Clemson
• Georgia
• Miami
• Notre Dame
• Oklahoma
• TCU
• UCF
• Washington
• Wisconsin

Auburn is the two-loss team that still has a chance to win out, take down Alabama and Georgia (twice) in the process and sneak into the CFP with two losses. With that slate, it would be deserved, too.

Here’s what I think is going to happen. I think OU wins out and takes the Big 12. I think Alabama wins out and takes the SEC. I think Georgia loses twice. I think Ohio State beats Wisconsin in the Big 10 title game, and I think your playoff is:

• Alabama
• OU
• Clemson
• Notre Dame

In some order.

Regardless, we now know it won’t include the Pokes after their stomach-punch losses to both TCU and OU. We also know that one of those teams will be eliminated from the conversation this weekend after they match up in Norman.

I guess we’re rooting for it to be TCU as their squad losing twice provides the most realistic path for Oklahoma State to back door its way into the Big 12 title game. Regardless, that game plus a bowl is as far as this year’s OSU team can get.