7 college football teams that keep Florida's CFP hopes alive with a loss in Week 10

The Florida Gators are just barely alive in the College Football Playoff. At 5-3, the Gators checked in at No. 24 in the initial CFP rankings. According to ESPN's CFP Playoff Predictor, Florida currently has an 11% chance to reach the 12-team field.

Of course, there are several teams in front of Florida that are standing in the way of the Gators' path to the postseason. But as we look at the loaded Week 10 slate of games, there are several teams that can lose that would help Florida's chances. Some are teams Florida has played or will play, whereas others are just standing in the Gators' way.

Let's take a look at the seven teams Florida needs to lose in Week 10 that would help boost the Gators playoff hopes. Of course, keep in mind that none of these results matter if Florida stumbles and loses to Oklahoma at home.

7 college football teams that keep Florida's CFP hopes alive with a loss

No. 6 Kentucky Wildcats (At No. 13 Tennessee)

Kentucky goes on the road to play the Vols this weekend. A loss for the Wildcats would hand Kentucky its second loss, and set up an even bigger matchup against Florida next week.

While of course, Florida beating Kentucky regardless of what happens against the Vols would boost the Gators' playoff chances. But Kentucky reaching a second loss would put the Wildcats among several other two-loss SEC teams the committee has to sort out.

A Kentucky loss would also add to the parity narrative in the SEC, which makes Florida's losses to South Carolina and Missouri a bit more tolerable.

No. 7 Texas Longhorns (At No. 18 Missouri)

The committee values Texas' Week 3 win over then-No. 1 Ohio State quite a bit. Despite the Longhorns' losses to unranked teams in Florida and Oklahoma, Texas is still firmly inside the Top-10.

A Texas loss at Missouri would bring the Longhorns even with Florida at three losses. It would also make the Gators' 45-17 loss to Mizzou in October a bit more palatable.

No. 10 Ole Miss Rebels (Vs. No. 2 Georgia)

A big reason why Florida is still in the CFP hunt is thanks to Florida's signature 52-28 win over then-No. 4 Ole Miss in Week 4. An Ole Miss loss to Georgia would both make Florida's 27-8 loss to the Dawgs not look as bad.

Of course, that also depends on if Ole Miss keeps it close against the Dawgs or gets dominated like Florida did. The latter would help even more. Another big reason that Ole Miss can't afford to lose this one is the Rebels don't exactly have a chance to get a signature win the rest of the season. Ole Miss has remaining games against Oklahoma, Wofford and Mississippi State, and none of them will be ranked anytime soon.

Trinidad Chambliss going up against the vaunted Florida defense should be an incredible game, so this one's going to be fun regardless.

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No. 11 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Vs. No. 1 Miami)

This one's pretty simple, as the committee has made it clear that if the Irish lose to Miami, Notre Dame is out of the playoff. ND's best win is a 37-26 win on the road against UNC. The only other ranked opponent the Irish have played is No. 8 BYU, who beat ND 28-24.

Notre Dame has remaining games against Boston College, SMU and Syracuse, neither of them currently ranked by the CFP.

No. 5 Alabama Crimson Tide or No. 14 LSU Tigers

This one feels like a CFP eliminator game, as the loser will come out of this one with three losses. But it's clear that the committee values the SEC, as the conference has 10 teams ranked inside the Top-25.

LSU and Alabama both have common opponents as Florida, as well. The Tigers also beat Auburn, but lost to Ole Miss. LSU also has to play Texas and beat Florida's opponent next week, Kentucky.

Alabama shares the most common opponents as Florida, as the Tide beat Kentucky, Florida State and South Carolina. The Tide also lost to Georgia, and will play Auburn during Rivalry Week.

Florida luckily doesn't have to play either of these teams this season, but whoever loses this one will have three losses just like the Gators. The common opponents between both teams will make for some interesting debates down the line.

No. 21 South Carolina Gamecocks (Vs. Texas A&M)

South Carolina is by far Florida's worst loss on its resume. While the Gamecocks have played better in recent weeks, South Carolina entered with three SEC losses. Not to mention Florida never really looked competitive in that game either.

The Gamecocks have a CFP path thanks to that win along with a signature upset win over Kentucky. South Carolina also still has to play No. 2 Georgia, which would put the Gamecocks into the CFP mix. Down the line a CFP spot might come down to a three-loss Florida or South Carolina at the end of the season. It would go to the Gamecocks thanks to their head-to-head win over Florida.

No. 12 Ohio State Buckeyes (Vs. No. 23 Oregon)

Ohio State is not out of the CFP just yet, with two losses to Texas and a road loss to USC while starting true freshman Luke Fahey for the first time. But a third loss to OSU would likely be enough to knock the Buckeyes out entirely. It would also kill any shot at Ohio State making the Big Ten title game.

Unlike Florida, Ohio State has zero games against ranked opponents the rest of the season, as well.

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