As rivalry week approaches and the College Football Playoff picture remains uncertain, FOX analyst Joel Klatt has outlined a troubling "full chaos mode" scenario that could see Oregon facing Michigan for the final spot in the 12-team field.
On his Wednesday show, Klatt described a possible doomsday scenario for the committee: Oregon, currently No. 6, loses a road game to Washington in the Cascade Clash. At the same time, No. 15 Michigan pulls off a massive upset against No. 1 Ohio State in "The Game". If Miami, Utah, and Vanderbilt all finish 10-2 with some assistance, and Texas slips to 9-3, both the Ducks and Wolverines might end up at 10-2, competing for the No. 10 or No. 11 seed.
In Klatt's words: "I think it would come down to basically Oregon sliding, Michigan raising up. Remember, this would be a potential win over the number one team in the country (for the Wolverines), And, you would basically have an Oregon-Michigan debate at No. 10. I think that’s what would happen in a full chaos mode,” Klatt said on his podcast, "The Joel Klatt Show. “ And, again, you know, we’ll see. Almost certainly, we won’t get this exact result. But, if (this scenario) happens, which is not out of the realm of possibility, we would be in full chaos mode, and I think it would probably come down to Oregon and Michigan at that point.”
“It would get messy. There’s no doubt,” Klatt admitted. The linked results would create challenges for the committee: Washington beats Oregon, Oregon beats USC, USC beats Michigan, Michigan beats Washington and Ohio State. Ranking that scenario would be tough.
Klatt pointed out this exact outcome is unlikely.
“Almost certainly, we won’t get this exact result” — but all the pieces are possible. If this happens, the Big Ten might have only three teams in the playoffs instead of four or five, and the final selection show on December 7 could be a big event.
For now, only time will tell.