Analyst Greg McElroy has shared his list of under the radar Week 14 games that fans can be on the lookout for that have College Football Playoff Implications.
As he explained on Always College Football, McElroy wanted to focus on games that the average fan may not be thinking about heading into the season. That comes in a week where the marquee matchups are likely to overshadow plenty of other games.
“Rivalry Week, Greg McElroy said. “We all know the big headliners in this one. We know Iron Bowl, we know Texas–Texas A&M, we know Ohio State and Michigan. We know all the big headline games in Rivalry Weekend. But, I’ll tell you a couple that are down the list a little bit that might have an impact on the College Football Playoff.”
A key change in the CFP for 2024 is that it’s expanding to 12 teams. That means that there’s going to be more at-large spots available and it’s going to allow more conference champions to get in than ever before. It also means that more games late in the season are going to potentially impact the CFP than ever before.
“Memphis at Tulane. This game may very well determine who is playing in the AAC Championship and, in the event that Memphis beats Tulane on their home field, I think that would be a huge feather in their cap. Now, we talked about them a little earlier as it relates to the game against Florida State,” McElroy said. “But Memphis with a really nice roster returning, could be in a position to secure that G5 bid in the event in which they win this game.”
From there, Greg McElroy transitioned to one of the classic rivalries in the sport, the Notre Dame–USC rivalry. When the Trojans host, it’s traditionally each team’s final regular season game of the year. That’s the case in 2024 and if both teams have strong seasons it could become a kind of play-in game.
“Notre Dame then travels to USC. I think USC has a chance to be sneaky good this year. I think people aren’t quite ready to hop on board that bandwagon just yet. I understand the hesitancy — I get it, but I still think SC has talent, I still think SC is gonna be able to score, and I do think USC will be a whole lot better on the defensive side of the football under Coach D’Anton Lynn who comes over from UCLA as the defensive coordinator,” McElroy said.
“So, Notre Dame in that final road trip of the season. Can they go to USC and get the job done? Another massive game with Playoff implications.”
Ultimately, the course of the season will dictate what Week 14 games have CFP implications. For the time being, though, these matchups seem like they could become very important.
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