Is it possible for a major college football team's season to be done on Sept. 17?
Seven notable Power 5 schools might not have a chance at the College Football Playoff after just three weeks. That’s the cost of beefed up non-conference schedules in the playoff era. In some cases, it’s also a result of playing a big conference game early.
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Keep this in mind: LSU was the only two-loss team to play in a BCS championship game, and no two-loss teams have played in the College Football Playoff in the last two seasons.
Which teams are feeling that now? Here’s a closer look:
THEY’RE OUT
Oklahoma
Credit the Sooners for playing tough teams in Houston and Ohio State, but they lost to the Cougars by 10 points and the Buckeyes by 21. The Sooners could still win the Big 12, but would a two-loss team be able to make the playoff without a conference championship game? That’s going to be extremely difficult.
BENDER: Five things we learned from Ohio State's drubbing of Oklahoma
Notre Dame
Notre Dame gave up 36 unanswered points to Michigan State in South Bend on Saturday. The Irish have to win out to be a two-loss team without the advantage of a conference championship game. The losses to Texas and Michigan State will look better as the season goes on, but the best wins left on the schedule are Stanford and Miami. Would that be enough? Probably not.
DECOURCY: Say goodbye to ND's playoff hopes
Ole Miss
The Rebels gave up 63 points combined in the second half against Florida State and Alabama in two losses this season. They gave up 20-plus point leads, too. The reward for all this is an undefeated Georgia team next week.
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USC
The rest of Clay Helton’s first full season at USC is going to be a test. How do you recover from the blowout loss to Alabama and yet another loss to Stanford? USC still could win the Pac-12 championship, but the road to the College Football Playoff seems impossible now.
Auburn
The Tigers lost two home games against good teams in Clemson and Texas A&M, and the loser of next week’s game against LSU between Gus Malzahn and Les Miles is going to learn just how hot a seat can get in late September. Auburn quarterbacks have combined for three TD passes in three games. That’s not enough.
THEY’RE ALMOST OUT
Florida State
We’ll give a slight disclaimer because they are a one-loss team. Florida State could get back in the playoff hunt if they win out and take the ACC championship. But that 43-point loss to Louisville is going to be extremely difficult to justify to the committee down the road. Consider that the last two seasons the one-loss playoff teams — Alabama (twice), Ohio State, Oregon, Michigan State and Oklahoma — lost by a combined 41 points in their one loss. Ohio State was the only team to lose by double digits. The Seminoles need to win the ACC and get more than just a little help. That loss is going to come up every single time.
Iowa
North Dakota State might be a Top 25 team in the FBS, but the fact is the Hawkeyes lost a tight game at home to a FCS school. That’s going to make it really hard to make it to the College Football Playoff. Remember how the Hawkeyes were being treated as an undefeated team last year? The only path back in would be winning the Big Ten West and a Big Ten championship, but with that loss it’s going to be tough.
