Put those shovels away, it's not time to bury TCU's season just yet

[caption id="attachment_20317" align="alignright" width="300"]Photo by Ashley Wirz Photo by Ashley Wirz[/caption] TCU’s loss to Oklahoma State shouldn’t erase the Horned Frogs from the talk surrounding a spot in the College Football Playoff because a four-game winning streak to end the season, which would include wins over Oklahoma on the road and Baylor at home, could get Gary Patterson’s team right back in the mix for one of the four playoff spots. A look at the college football landscape suggests there is one spot left unless an upset takes place to Clemson, Alabama and/or Ohio State before the end of the season. Clemson and Ohio State are undefeated and favored in every remaining game. Out of the two, Clemson holds the easiest chance to remain undefeated because of the weakness of depth in the ACC. Ohio State still must get past Michigan State, Michigan and possibly Iowa in the Big 10 Championship. Alabama is a one-loss team, but the Crimson Tide gets the SEC bump. In years past, Alabama's meteoric rise back towards the top of the rankings would be misguided, but Nick Saban’s team is playing better than anyone in the country. The destruction of LSU over the weekend made it clear that Alabama is the class of the SEC, and we all know a one-loss SEC champion is not getting left out of the College Football Playoff. That leaves one spot if Clemson, Ohio State and Florida State finish the deal. Frankly, a one-loss Ohio State or Clemson team that won the Big 12 or the ACC probably gets the nod over a one-loss Big 12 team like TCU, but the Horned Frogs still have a chance to get the nod before the PAC-12 champion. With Oregon struggling, the Pac 12 doesn’t have much of an identity. It definitely doesn’t have a dominant team since Utah ended up losing. The loss to Oklahoma State wasn’t pretty. Not a lot of people believed Mike Gundy’s Cowboys were a Big 12 contender, but that perception faded quickly at the expense of TCU. Oklahoma State is now ranked fifth in the nation and those same Cowboys may end up being the biggest road block for TCU’s chances at a playoff berth. If Oklahoma State can’t run the table, TCU has the chance to pounce on the opportunity with a strong close to the season. The road back to College Football Playoff relevancy starts this week against Kansas.