Nebraska's CFP Rooting Guide: 3 teams that must lose to boost the Cornhuskers' College Football Playoff chances

The College Football Playoff isn’t far away, and suddenly the Nebraska Cornhuskers could make it.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers are having one of their best seasons in years. They sit at 5-2 overall and 2-2 in the Big Ten. The two conference losses have to sting for this fan base, but the College Football Playoff isn’t completely out of reach for Nebraska.
According to A to Z Sports’ new College Football Playoff prediction simulator, the Cornhuskers still have a 9% chance to make the College Football Playoff. That isn’t a big number, but it’s still a chance.
The outlook is bleaker. Nebraska has less than a 1% chance to reach the Big Ten Championship Game, win the Big Ten, earn a first-round bye, or win the national title. Still, a chance is a chance. The simulator also lays out what the Huskers need over the next few weeks to boost those odds.

Nebraska has to handle its own business first

If Nebraska beats Washington in Week 9, its playoff odds immediately jump from 9% to 12%. If the Cornhuskers win out and finish 10-2, those odds climb to 72%. That’s easier said than done. The remaining schedule is not easy by any means:

• Washington – Illinois – Rutgers – Ohio State – Iowa

Ohio State and Iowa are tough games on their own, and Washington is a difficult matchup. Illinois can be tricky, too. If Nebraska runs through that slate, it should certainly be in the field.
Winning out still only gives the Huskers a 4% chance to reach the Big Ten title game. That number doesn’t account for the teams around them losing games, though. If some of those teams drop a handful of games and Nebraska sneaks into the conference championship, the picture changes completely. A win in the Big Ten title game guarantees Nebraska a playoff spot. Even a loss in that game still gives the Cornhuskers an 86% chance to get in, simply from getting there.

Who Nebraska fans should be rooting for

The scoreboard-watching part is pretty simple. Root against the teams ahead of Nebraska in the standings. However, there’s a catch. Don’t bother rooting against Indiana or Ohio State. Both teams only have one loss, and even if Nebraska won out and each of them lost a game, they would still get the nod over the Huskers.
Instead, Nebraska fans should be rooting against teams like Northwestern and UCLA. The Bruins are undefeated, but their quarterback situation could easily lead to a few more losses. Outside the Big Ten, Texas and Kentucky are also teams to root against. Here’s the week-by-week breakdown from the simulator:

• Week 9: Oregon over Northwestern (4% playoff boost) – Week 10: Iowa over Northwestern (6% playoff boost) – Week 11: Illinois over UCLA (8% playoff boost) – Week 12: Michigan over UCLA and Missouri over Kentucky (7% playoff boost) – Week 13: Texas A&M over Texas (4% playoff boost)

If all of that happens and Nebraska wins out, the Cornhuskers should be in the College Football Playoff. But as I said, that’s a lot to ask.

The teams Nebraska doesn’t play matter most

Looking at the conference, Nebraska needs Northwestern, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and USC to lose. Those teams sit ahead of the Huskers in the playoff race, and Nebraska doesn’t play any of them.
That distinction matters. Fans are already rooting against every team on Nebraska’s schedule, so those results take care of themselves. The teams the Cornhuskers don’t face are out of their control, so that’s where the scoreboard-watching comes in.
Each loss by Minnesota, Northwestern, Wisconsin, or USC helps Nebraska. Either way, it all starts with Washington in Week 9. A win there doesn’t punch any tickets, but it keeps the door open for a team that hasn’t been in this conversation in quite some time.

This article was originally published on A to Z Sports. Read the full story here: Nebraska's CFP Rooting Guide: 3 teams that must lose to boost the Cornhuskers' College Football Playoff chances

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