With just two weeks left in the regular season, the College Football Playoff is taking shape.
It’s been a dizzying season that has seen top dogs humbled, unknowns rise to the top, and perennial contenders stay steady.
There’s still plenty to shake out. You can count on a couple more surprises before the nation’s top four teams punch their tickets to the semifinals.
Odds to Make College Football Playoff
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Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan, and TCU are all undefeated and considered the favorites by online sportsbooks. But a few dark horses have a legitimate shot to play in the CFB Championship game come January.
Here’s a look at the path to the playoffs for four underdogs.
Who Can Still Make the College Football Playoff?
The 10-0 Georgia Bulldogs are all but a lock to make the CFP and defend their national title. The other three spots are still up for grabs. Michigan and Ohio State are also 10-0, but not for long.
The Wolverines and Buckeyes will square off in two weeks with everything on the line in The Game. The winner of that contest will secure a playoff spot, while the loser could potentially be on the outside looking in.
The rest of the field is in a dogfight which should make for a thrilling finish to the season.
1. North Carolina Tar Heels +800
The 9-1 Tar Heels are probably the biggest long shot of the remaining contenders to make the CFP, but they do have a path. After an ugly 6-7 campaign last season, Mack Brown has completely turned his squad around.
Quarterback Drake Maye has set the world on fire through ten games with 34 touchdowns and just three interceptions. He’s also set himself up as a top Heisman candidate (+600).
NC is 10th in scoring in the country, averaging 40.1 points per game. The Heels have already won the ACC Coastal Division and will play Clemson for the ACC Championship on Dec. 3.
If they win out and upset Clemson in the title game, they’ll have made a serious case for CFP consideration.
2. LSU Tigers +650
No team has ever made the CFP with two losses, but it is possible. In 2017, a two-loss Auburn team would have punched its ticket with a win over Georgia in the SEC title game but fell short. LSU has that same opportunity this year.
The Tigers currently sit 8-2 and have already secured their spot in the SEC championship game thanks to tiebreakers over Alabama and Ole Miss.
Brian Kelly’s squad will have to cruise past UAB and Texas A&M in the next two weeks. They’ll then have to pull off a colossal upset against the Bulldogs in Atlanta. It’s not likely, but it’s possible.
3. Clemson Tigers +600
Dabo Swinney’s Clemson Tigers seem to be a forgotten team this year. But at 9-1, they are still very much alive in the playoff race. It wouldn’t be the first time they made the CFP with one loss. They did it in 2016 and went on to win the national championship.
Clemson is a 20-point favorite over the 5-5 Miami Hurricanes this week. They’ll then face South Carolina at home to wrap up the regular season. The Tigers already have a date with UNC for the ACC Championship on Dec. 3, regardless of the next two games.
They’ll be favored in all three remaining games. Winning out would give them a solid chance of getting invited to the big dance.
4. USC Trojans +600
Lincoln Riley has rebooted the Trojans this year, making the once college football powerhouse relevant again. USC is 9-1 but has a tough road ahead to the CFP. The Trojans still have to face cross-town rival UCLA (16th) and long-time foe Notre Dame (18th) to finish the season.
If they can negotiate that gauntlet, they’d still have to win the Pac-12 championship for consideration. Even then, they’d need favorable outcomes from the other one-loss contenders to earn their spot.
Any hope they have rests on this weekend’s showdown with the 8-2 Bruins. The Trojans are favored by two points in that one as of this writing.
