Forde-yard Dash: Seven Teams That Can Make A Major Impact On The Cfp Race

Forty names, games, teams and minutiae making news successful assemblage football, wherever a cardinal coaches person been fired and Hugh Freeze someway isn’t 1 of them. First Quarter: How Is Your Second-Year Head Coach Doing? Second Quarter: Brian Kelly Is nan Latest, But Not nan Last, to Go. Third Quarter: Curt Cignetti Stands Alone.

We’re into nan last period of nan regular season, which intends it’s clip for College Football Playoff positioning to power up. The first action committee rankings travel retired adjacent Tuesday, which intends this is nan past Saturday for teams to make a good—or bad—first belief connected nan committee. (Expect a resurgence successful spot of schedule chat successful nan period ahead.)

The Dash identifies 7 intriguing teams positioned to make a awesome effect connected nan playoff race, either connected their ain behalf aliases by upsetting opposing pome carts. They’ll move nan needle successful November, 1 measurement aliases another.

Texas and Oklahoma (31)

The second-year SEC teams are sitting connected a seasonal responsibility line—they could make a push into nan bracket aliases autumn apart, aliases thing successful between.

The Longhorns are 6–2 and conscionable a crippled retired of first spot successful nan nonaccomplishment column, yet their instrumentality guidelines has spent astir of nan play outraged. That’s mostly understandable nan past mates of weeks, fixed nan near-disasters against SEC bottom-dwellers Kentucky and Mississippi State. The Athletic’s Saturday study astir Steve Sarkisian being shopped to NFL franchises was swiftly and vigorously changeable down by his agents, but it adds to nan What nan Hell Is Going connected successful Austin? vibe.

Texas is obscurity adjacent arsenic bully arsenic its preseason billing, and that’s only partially owed to Arch Manning. Do nan Longhorns person it anyplace wrong themselves to do immoderate harm pinch 3 Top 10 opponents—No. 9 Vanderbilt, No. 5 Georgia and No. 3 Texas A&M—in their last 4 games? Even if they can’t make a playoff push of their own, they could spoil nan play for a mates of opponents.

Oklahoma is successful a akin position, 6–2 but leaving its fans disappointed successful really October went. Are nan Sooners spoilers aliases contenders? They are astatine No. 14 Tennessee connected Saturday, astatine No. 4 Alabama connected Nov. 15 and location against No. 19 Missouri connected Nov. 22, past decorativeness up pinch LSU.

Oklahoma’s astir glaring statistical shortcoming: conscionable 4 protect takeaways, tied for 132nd nationally. The Sooners person produced zero takeaways successful six of their 8 games. That’s shocking for a Brent Venables team.

Kirk Ferentz (right) and nan Hawkeyes are connected a three-game winning streak successful nan Big Ten, pinch Iowa’s astir caller triumph coming against P.J. Fleck and nan Minnesota Gophers. / Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Iowa (32)

At 6–2 and 4–1 successful nan Big Ten, nan Hawkeyes are hanging astir arsenic nan imaginable fourth-best squad successful what looks for illustration a three-bid league. They person a chance to upset nan established bid of things Nov. 8, erstwhile No. 6 Oregon comes to Iowa City, past travel that up pinch a travel to No. 23 USC. They adjacent nan regular play against Nebraska successful a crippled that could return connected added weight by then.

Iowa’s pummeling of Minnesota connected Saturday was classical FerentzBall: a protect touchdown, a special-teams touchdown, a plus-three turnover margin, 41 points pinch conscionable 274 full yards. The Hawkeyes person produced 8 takeaways successful their existent three-game Big Ten winning streak.

Iowa’s losses are by a full of 8 points to Iowa State and Indiana. Now it needs immoderate value wins. Get a couple, and nan speech astir this squad becomes much interesting.

Georgia Tech (33)

The Yellow Jackets support stacking wins, now 8–0, and are favored by astir a touchdown astatine NC State connected Saturday. After that is 1–7 Boston College, past backmost to Atlanta for a mates of intriguing ones: basking Pittsburgh connected Nov. 22, and possibly nan astir consequential Georgia–Georgia Tech crippled ever connected Black Friday.

If Tech reaches 11–0, it will beryllium playing successful nan ACC title game. If it reaches 12–0, it should beryllium assured of a playoff spot nary matter what happens successful that game.

Quarterback Haynes King has been awesome each season, but he’s cranked it up aft a needed unfastened day to commencement October. He’s produced 993 yards of full discourtesy and 9 full touchdowns successful his past 3 games. The much Tech wins, nan much apt King is simply a Heisman Trophy finalist—at least.

BYU (34)

For nan 2nd consecutive year, nan Cougars participate November undefeated—a ringing endorsement of Kalani Sitake’s expertise to person nan programme fresh for Big 12 life aft years arsenic an independent.

They are a chaotic ride, undefeated but hardly unchallenged. They’ve trailed successful nan 2nd half of 4 of their past 5 games, including nan past 3 successful a row. They are nan meaning of statistical mediocrity, ranking seventh successful nan 16-team Big 12 successful full discourtesy and eighth successful full defense successful convention games. But they are first successful endurance instinct.

And truthful now nan roadworthy to nan convention title crippled runs done Provo, Utah—or, much accurately, done BYU connected nan road. After an unfastened day this week, nan Cougars are astatine Texas Tech connected Nov. 8 and astatine Cincinnati connected Nov. 22. Those games will show america a batch astir who is going to JerryWorld, and yet to nan CFP.

Navy (35)

The past unbeaten from nan Group of 6 conferences has a loaded closing slate, pinch games astatine North Texas (7–1), Notre Dame (5–2) and Memphis (7–1) and a location crippled against South Florida (6–2). The Midshipmen person an explosive discourtesy that is tin of scoring connected anyone, but besides a defense that is tin of being scored upon—they’ve fixed up astatine slightest 31 points successful nan past 3 games, while still uncovering a measurement to win.

Navy should person a batch of Catholic fans this month, fixed nan position of …  

Expect location to beryllium a batch of chat astir Notre Dame’s résumé erstwhile nan first College Football Playoff ranking is revealed. / MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Notre Dame (36)

Wait until that first committee rankings show adjacent week—the debating complete nan Fighting Irish will motorboat immediately. They person awesome losses (by a full of 4 points to Top 10 Texas A&M and Miami). They person nary awesome wins, but are winning impressively. They person a sanction brand. Be prepared.

The Irish request a fewer things to hap to buff up their résumé—for No. 23 USC to person a awesome month, for Navy to triumph its games earlier and aft Nov. 8, and for 6–2 Pittsburgh to support winning up of their Nov. 15 game. They would besides use from immoderate carnage successful nan SEC, wherever playoff contenders are stacked for illustration planes circling O’Hare. Anything that helps trim nan ACC and Big 12 to one-bid leagues would besides play successful their favor.

Mostly, Notre Dame needs to triumph nan remainder of its games. Controlling what it tin power is each that matters astatine this point.

Literary Corner 

The Dash is pleased to urge Buckeye Brotherhood (37), which chronicles Ohio State’s rather melodramatic 2024 nationalist title season. It’s written by Friend of Dash Bill Rabinowitz, an charismatic writer connected nan Buckeye hit for a agelong time. If you’re an Ohio State instrumentality and want to relive that season—including nan clang and pain against Michigan, and nan emergence from those ashes—this is simply a awesome read.

Jake Dickert (38), Wake Forest

The Demon Deacons were picked to decorativeness 16th successful nan 17-team ACC, and that was only because Stanford appeared to beryllium successful moreover worse shape. But Dickert, successful his first twelvemonth connected nan occupation aft arriving from Washington State, has put a shockingly competitory squad connected nan field.

Wake Forest is 5–2 and connected a three-game winning streak, angling for its first vessel bid since 2022. The Deacons are coming disconnected an upset of SMU and had Georgia Tech each but beaten connected Sept. 27 earlier losing successful overtime, aliases this play really would beryllium taking connected a miraculous tone. Regardless, Dickert has proven to beryllium a shrewd prosecute by diversion head John Currie.

Coach Who Should Take nan Bus to Work 

Deion Sanders (left) will request to lead Colorado to an upset aliases 2 to moreover get to a vessel game—the Buffaloes are conscionable 3–5 this year. / Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Deion Sanders (39), Colorado

His Buffaloes trailed 43–0 astatine halftime to a Utah squad that was without its starting quarterback. That’s really each you request to cognize astir really Year 3 is going for Coach Prime. Colorado is 3–5 and will request to propulsion an upset aliases 2 to make a vessel game. This play was bound to beryllium a regression aft going 9–4 and losing Heisman victor Travis Hunter and backmost Shedeur Sanders, but Prime intelligibly didn’t person nan roster adequately stocked to debar a beautiful terrible drop-off.

When quiet and thirsty successful nan SEC melting-pot metropolis of Nashville—currently a Vanderbilt hotbed—find yourself a basking chickenhearted sandwich (it won’t beryllium hard) and brace it pinch a Homestyle IPA from Bearded Iris Brewing (40). If an IPA isn’t your thing, they make plentifulness of different bully beers. Sample a mates and convey The Dash later.

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