The Week 12 College Football Playoff rankings had a lot to consider after several major upsets last Saturday, and the biggest takeaway was this: a lot of teams still have a shot at making into college football's final four.
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ESPN writer Heather Dinich previewed this week of college football with several teams that she believes you cannot yet count out in terms of Playoff contention. Two of those teams are definitely eyebrow-raising, as they don't even rank in the current Playoff Top 10.
Those two teams? No. 11 Oklahoma State and No. 14 West Virginia.
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West Virginia is an interesting case, as many believe they were very under-ranked by the committee in the latest edition of the rankings. To the committee, the Mountaineers lack a quality win, but they have a shot to get a big one this Saturday when they take on No. 9 Oklahoma.
Oklahoma State is a little trickier to project. The 8-2 Cowboys still have that loss to Central Michigan on their resume, but they also close the season with games against Oklahoma and a highly-regarded TCU team. They need a lot of help to get into the Playoff, but they do control their own destiny to win the Big 12 thanks to their win earlier in the season over West Virginia.
While jumping into the Top 4 from outside the Top 10 seems difficult, it is not completely unprecedented. The first two seasons of the Playoff rankings have seen Ohio State and Michigan State jump into the Playoff after being ranked No. 8 and No. 9 during Week 12 of those respective seasons.
For No. 11 or No. 14 to get in, though? They are going to need some help.
