November Scenarios for Mississippi State to Make the College Football Playoff
And we are down to three – three teams with a legitimate shot of winning the SEC West and advancing to Atlanta that is. Yes, of course there could be some funky business to take place where there is a five team tie at the end of the month, but for now we will go with the safe assumption its Mississippi State, Alabama and Auburn who are at the top of the division and clearly the top teams in the West.
In No. 1-Mississippi State’s case, it’s about what can the Bulldogs do to not only win the West, but get to the college football playoff.
Yes the Bulldogs are number one in the polls and yes the Bulldogs are number one in the college football playoff rankings and should stay there this week, but what are their chances and what needs to happen for them to stay in the top four?
You can just about rest assured the Bulldogs defeat UT Martin and Vanderbilt at home, giving the Bulldogs their first 10-win season since 1999 and their first 10-win season in regulation play since 1940.
BUT – What will it take for the Bulldogs to reach Atlanta and or the College Football Playoff?
Scenario One:
The obvious path is winning – straight up win out. Beat the remaining four teams on your schedule and you punch your ticket to Atlanta to play either Missouri or Georgia. You do that and you are in like Flynn.
Scenario Two:
If Mississippi State were to lose at Alabama in two weeks, things could get dicey.
If State loses at Bama, and beats Mississippi and Bama beats Auburn, State could still potentially get in with one loss and not even play for the SEC Championship.
Granted you want to play for the SEC Championship, but if you’re in the four team playoff for the National Title, you should take that every day of the week. The committee has shown early they will not penalize teams that lose on the road to other good teams.
Scenario Three:
Right now State has a one-game lead over Auburn and Alabama, holding the tie-breaker with Auburn.
You really need to become a fan of a few teams over the next few weeks. Alabama travels to Baton Rouge this weekend to take on the Tigers and you need to throw some corndogs in the microwave and work on your Cajun accent.
If the Tigers could upset Alabama this weekend that would give Bama their second loss of the year and all but knock them out of the College Football Playoff. Granted they could still beat MSU and Auburn and have some help to get in, but an LSU win would make their job a tough one.
Also you need to pull for Auburn in this year’s Iron Bowl and hope Georgia upsets Auburn in a couple of weeks.
An Auburn loss to Georgia gives the Tigers two-SEC losses and if Auburn were to beat Alabama after LSU that would give the Tide a third loss this year; assuming they beat MSU.
If Auburn has two losses and Alabama three by years end, this would assure the Bulldogs an SEC Championship appearance even if they fell flat on their face against Alabama and Mississippi. (assuming Ole Miss loses to Arkansas). NOTE: If this happens and Ole Miss wins out, it would force a three way tie at the top which is no good for MSU.
So Much More Out There:
Yes there are a ton of scenarios in which this team or that team could advance, but these are the likely three you need to be pulling for to get your Bulldogs to the SEC Championship and beyond.
Obviously if you win, you are in, but in the SEC it’s never easy and the Bulldogs have a major road ahead of them in November.
Here are some detailed possible finishes for the big three in the Western Division.
Current SEC Standings at the top:
This can get dicey, just remember that Mississippi State needs to finish one win better than Alabama or tied with Auburn.