Which Group of Five team will make the College Football Playoff?

Two AAC teams — the Army Black Knights and Navy Midshipmen — are undefeated and have paths to the CFP. Indeed, both service academies play Notre Dame this year, but if either team beats the Fighting Irish and wins the AAC, they would have a compelling case to be included in the 12-team CFP field.

The James Madison Dukes are the only undefeated team in the Sun Belt, and their résumé is highlighted by an impressive win over the North Carolina Tar Heels.

In Conference USA, the Liberty Flames are the only undefeated team. However, their schedule does not include a single Power Four opponent.

No undefeated teams remain in the MAC.

UNLV is the only undefeated team in the MWC. Boise State suffered a heartbreaking 37-34 loss to the No. 6 Oregon Ducks in Week 2 but just secured an impressive win over Washington State.

As noted above, the Broncos and Rebels are the only G5 teams currently included in the top 25. However, Army, Navy and James Madison received votes and are on the cusp of breaking through. The weakness of Liberty’s schedule appears to be holding the Flames back. 

Thus, as the midway point of the regular season approaches, there appear to be five legitimate contenders to represent the G5 in the CFP:

1. Boise State
2. UNLV
3. Army
4. Navy
5. James Madison

An interesting consideration in this regard is that the two service academy contenders might play one another twice before CFP selections are made — in the AAC championship game and in the annual Army-Navy game.

The CFP selection rules do not preclude inclusion of two G5 teams in the playoff bracket. However, in order for two of the teams to make it in, the one that is not the recipient of an automatic bid would need to leapfrog numerous Power Four teams in the rankings.