6 College Football Teams in Perfect Position to Be a Playoff Spoiler

Heading into every season, college football teams dream of winning the national championship. Whether it's a legitimate possibility doesn't matter; it's a dream, after all.

But as calendar moves to late October, reality provides an unfortunate truth to 100 or so college football teams: You're not winning a national title this year.

Some programs falter when preseason goals become unattainable. Others, however, refocus their motivation and energy into playing spoiler and preventing top opponents―especially rivals―from reaching the College Football Playoff.

The list of potential spoilers is organized alphabetically by school.

Auburn Tigers

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Technically, yes, Auburn remains alive in the College Football Playoff chase. If the Tigers don't lose another game, they'll head to the championship tournament.

But that's not likely.

Auburn's five remaining regular-season contests include a trip to LSU and home clashes with Georgia and Alabama. Since the Tigers already dropped a game at Florida, anything less than 3-0 in those showdowns would end their dreams of a CFP berth.

On the other hand, anything better than 0-3 means Auburn has sparked chaos in the rankings. If it's Georgia, the Dawgs are likely out of the running for the CFP. If it's LSU or Alabama, neither side could afford a second loss.

Even if Auburn doesn't reach the playoff, it can still have an immense impact on which teams are selected.

Michigan Wolverines

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Michigan's losses to Wisconsin and Penn State will keep Jim Harbaugh's club out of the championship conversation. Two CFP hopefuls remain on the slate, though.

First up is Notre Dame, which travels to Ann Arbor on Oct. 26. The Irish are hoping for a repeat trip to the playoff, but a loss at Georgia has removed their margin for error in 2019.

Then on Nov. 30, the Wolverines host rival Ohio State in the regular-season finale. While the Buckeyes would have a reasonable shot at a playoff berth at 12-1, any loss would put Ohio State at the mercy of the CFP selection committee. That's a far less desirable spot than winning the Big Ten title at 13-0.

Michigan fell short of its ultimate goal, but an upset victory―particularly over Ohio State―would be a nice consolation.

Missouri Tigers

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Losing at Vanderbilt? That's no good. Terrible, really. Nevertheless, the Missouri Tigers have a chance to disrupt playoff contenders in the SEC.

After an idle weekend to open November, Missouri will head to Georgia (Nov. 9) and host Florida (Nov. 16). By virtue of the Nov. 2 clash between the rivals, one of them will no longer be a championship threat. Either way, the Tigers remain on the schedule.

Missouri ranks sixth nationally with a mere 4.2 yards allowed per play and is averaging 35.3 points offensively. Despite the ugly loss at Vandy, this roster must be respected.

Florida―which lost 38-17 to Mizzou at home last season―should be fully aware of that.

South Carolina Gamecocks

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Thanks to a stunning double-overtime win at Georgia, South Carolina already created a twist in the SEC race. Could the Gamecocks pull off another massive upset?

Based on how Clemson has played lately, the answer might be yes.

South Carolina hosts the Palmetto Bowl this season on Nov. 30 and has enough defensive playmakers to frustrate a slumping Trevor Lawrence. Through seven games, the Gamecocks have 13 takeaways and 11 turnovers. They boasted a plus-four margin against UGA, and that difference was the biggest reason for that upset.

Throw in a Nov. 9 matchup with Appalachian State, and South Carolina could have a role in determining which Group of Five program receives a New Year's Six bowl berth too.

Texas Longhorns

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Although the Texas Longhorns have two losses―and that dooms any CFP thoughts―only one happened in conference play. They can earn the tiebreaker win over Iowa State in November, and undefeated Baylor is waiting on the schedule.

Nobody can control destiny. Tom Herman's team does, however, control its ability to reach the Big 12 championship game.

Baylor hosts Oklahoma and Texas in back-to-back November weeks. Barring a Baylor loss to West Virginia or TCU before then, the Longhorns could officially bounce the Bears from playoff talks and just about lock up a return trip to the Big 12 title tilt.

Oklahoma is likely to be in Arlington on Dec. 7. The timing of a letdown could not be worse for the Sooners, a front-runner for the CFP, but Texas would be thrilled to provide that loss if it gets there.

USC Trojans

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Predicting how USC will perform has been difficult. The Trojans lost to BYU but toppled Utah. They also looked mediocre at Washington before giving eighth-ranked Notre Dame a 60-minute fight.

Got all that?

While we're not suggesting USC should be trusted, Clay Helton's squad is 4-0 at home and freshman quarterback Kedon Slovis has performed well since he returned from a concussion Oct. 12. Looking ahead, the Trojans host Oregon on Nov. 2 and are probably the Pac-12 favorite's most challenging regular-season foe left.

If USC were to knock off the Ducks, the Trojans would have victories over both Oregon and Utah―almost single-handedly wrecking any possibility of a Pac-12 playoff entrant.