The Auburn Tigers' 41-38 home loss to the Texas A&M Aggies on Saturday is a damaging one for the program's chances of gaining a berth in the inaugural College Football Playoff.
As John Taylor of NBC's College Football Talk sees it, "it would take some serious and significant upheaval for the Tigers to sniff one of the four playoff spots. That’s how damaging this loss was for The Plainsmen, who apparently used up their allotment of late-game magic in its run to the 2013 BCS title game."
Snarky finish to that assessment aside, the Auburn Tigers are definitely in need of help both in regards to their national title hopes and their chances at an SEC West title.
At 4-2 in conference play, Auburn will need a major tailspin from undefeated #1 Mississippi State (5-0 in conference play) to sniff an SEC championship berth. Even a win over Alabama in the Iron Bowl (provided Auburn beats Georgia next week) isn't enough.
The Tigers will need the Bulldogs to lose two of their remaining three games (Alabama, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss) to get back in the title picture. Furthermore, the Tigers will also need to impress the 13-person College Football Playoff committee with all the cards falling in their favor in order to be selected as one of the lucky four teams with a shot at a national championship.
It's a steep hill to climb for Gus Malzahn's crew, but as is the case with all sports, stranger things have happened.
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