Mizzou Win Puts It in Driver's Seat for SEC East Title, Dark-Horse Playoff Shot

There's nothing pretty about Missouri this season, but that's fine with the Tigers.

Here they are for the second straight year going into the final week of the season needing to win to claim the SEC East and, as was the case last season, with faint national-title hopes still flickering.

Wait, hold on. Missouri as a College Football Playoff contender?

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It seems crazy to say and certainly is bizarre for me to write. After beating Tennessee 29-21 on Saturday night in Knoxville, though, it's time to start at least considering the possibility of Missouri acting as the ultimate late-season College Football Playoff dark horse.

The defense was all over Joshua Dobbs, sacking the sophomore signal-caller five times and forcing two total turnovers (one fumble, one interception).

Head coach Gary Pinkel was pleased with the performance, according to David Morrison of the Columbia Daily Tribune:

This isn't the prettiest team. In fact, for three quarters on Saturday night, it was sometimes ugly. But quarterback Maty Mauk caught fire in the fourth quarter, tossing two touchdown passes to break open a tight game and bring Missouri to the brink of back-to-back East division titles.

So how does Missouri make it to the playoff?

It's a long and winding road that starts with a win over Arkansas in Columbia on Black Friday. After the way Missouri's defensive line has played all year, it's only fitting that it'll have to show out against the biggest offensive line in football—college or NFL—in order to get to Atlanta.

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If the Tigers clear that hurdle and get to the Georgia Dome, a highly ranked SEC West contender—either No. 1 Alabama or No. 4 Mississippi State will be waiting for them. A win over either the Crimson Tide or the Bulldogs would be nice, but it'd be really helpful to make it emphatic and make it over No. 1 Alabama.

Call it "game control" if you wish, but a resounding victory in the Georgia Dome over the Crimson Tide would be a nice final statement to the 12 members of the selection committee.

After that, just a few dominoes need to fall. 

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And by "a few," I mean a lot.

First thing's first, a TCU loss needs to happen, and the most likely chance for that is Thanksgiving night when the Horned Frogs visit a suddenly resurgent Texas team that's won three straight. That'd solve one Big 12 problem, and Baylor losing to Kansas State on the final week of the season would be a good second step to clear the Big 12 road.

Now that the Big 12 is out of the way, Ohio State needs to go down. The Big 12 Championship Game against Wisconsin or Minnesota is the best place for that. Since Wisconsin is a two-loss team that'll likely be in the Top 15 this week, it'd be helpful if it's a sloppy game on both sides. But if Missouri wins out, that SEC Championship Game win would likely place the Tigers at the top of the two-loss pecking order.

After that, it's a breeze.

Just a Mississippi State loss to Ole Miss to ensure that Missouri is the unquestioned No. 1 in the SEC playoff pecking order and an Oregon and/or Florida State losses over their final two games for insurance purposes.

Missouri in the College Football Playoff? Yeah, it's crazy.

But Indiana winning on the road over the eventual SEC East champ seems crazy too. 

It's not crazy; it's the "SEC Coastal," better known as the SEC East in 2014.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a co-host of the CFB Hangover on Bleacher Report Radio (Sundays, 9-11 a.m. ET) on Sirius 93, XM 208.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of CFBStats.com, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.