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With a spreading Playoff and beefed-up conference schedules, losing has become a fact of life-- even for the top teams in college football. It's almost certain that some teams already carrying two losses will end up in the College Football Playoff. With that in mind, here's a ranking of the two-loss teams across the power conferences.
The Blue Devils aren't likely to be one of those Playoff teams-- in part because they still have to plat at both No. 1 Miami and No. 14 Wake Forest. Duke has taken losses to Georgia Tech and North Carolina, so they're one of the weakest two-loss teams.
The Bearcats still have to face No. 6 Utah, No. 8 BYU, and No. 18 Houston. For a team that barely snuck past Miami of Ohio in Week 3 and lost to Arizona by 27 points, Cincinnati isn't a glamorous team and they look certain to drop out of CFP contention.
The Hokies are also probably not heading anywhere soon. They still have to play at No. 19 SMU and at No. 1 Miami. Tech lacks a marquee win and has lost to Cal and Pittsburgh.
The Huskers are good enough to be frustrating-- their two losses are to Indiana and to Oregon, each by three points. The road ahead does include hosting Ohio State, and Nebraska really could use a marquee win.
The Hawkeyes are just off a loss to Minnesota and have to play ranked Wisconsin and Northwestern squads in the weeks ahead. But the highlights of the season include wins over Michigan and Iowa State.
The Trojans just fell out of the top 25 after losing to Wisconsin. With three of their four remaining games coming against teams in the top 7 of the latest AP poll, USC is fading fast.
The Tigers took a brutal 28-poin loss to Ole Miss and also lost to Mississippi State. The highpoint of the season so far is besting Florida by 28 points. But with Texas, Georgia, and Kentucky yet to come, Missouri's slate is not going to give them very legitimate CFP hopes.
Fresh off a win over Iowa, Minnesota looks pretty competitive, but the remaining schedule includes at Indiana and Wisconsin and home games with No. 7 UCLA and No. 20 Northwestern.
Florida took down Texas and Ole Miss. But Florida also lost by 28 points to Missouri and by 19 points to South Carolina. With Georgia and Kentucky in the next three games, UF's solid start is probably getting derailed sooner rather than later.
The Cowboys, currently No. 24, could end up making the Playoff, but they probably need to win out, including beating No. 13 Texas Tech. State gained some massive attention in Week 2 by beating Oregon, and lost by just three points to Houston. The Week 1 loss to Tulsa hurts, but OSU till has a CFP chance.
The 5-2 Badgers still have a plausible Playoff chance, as nobody ahead on the schedule is ranked in the Top 25. Fellow two-loss Iowa and Minnesota are the scariest teams yet to play. The Badgers have taken down USC and Penn State.
Tennessee has a claim to go well above this spot-- after all, they beat Alabama by 16 points. But the Vols also lost to Texas and are off a loss to South Carolina. Tennessee has to face Kentucky and LSU down the stretch, but has a solid shot at a Playoff berth.
The Rebels could well have been higher in this list, but just loss to Texas. Wins over LSU and Missouri highlight the slate and Ole Miss's biggest issue ahead is a looming game with Georgia in Week 10.
Back-to-back losses to Oklahoma and Florida were tough, but an impressive win over Ole Miss puts Texas back in the hunt for a CFP spot. Take care of business and best LSU in mid-November and Texas will like their landing spot.
The Tide took back-to-back losses to Georgia and Tennessee. But that aside, Alabama remains very much legitimate, and their upcoming game at LSU could clarify which is the top two-loss team.
The Tigers are off an impressive win over Auburn. With upcoming games with Alabama, Texas, and Tennessee, the Tigers will get a chance to add some marquee victories in the near future. Are Kiffin and Sam Leavitt ready?