The American Conference remains the clear frontrunner among Group of Five conferences to place a team in the College Football Playoff, but it is much less clear whether that team can be remotely competitive in a road playoff game. Tulane lost at Ole Miss 45-10 in September, and the lone touchdown came late in the fourth quarter. South Florida lost at Miami 49-12 a week earlier, yielding 576 yards.

Those are exactly the type of opponents the league winner could face as a presumed No. 12 seed, and we will see how Navy fares as a huge underdog against Notre Dame on Nov. 8. Memphis has not faced a playoff contender out of conference, but the Tigers needed to force a last-minute fumble at home to prevent Arkansas (winless in the SEC) from attempting a chip-shot field goal to win on the final

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