Minnesota’s perfect season came to a screeching halt in Kinnick Stadium over the weekend, but that loss doesn’t necessarily mean the season is over for the Gophers.

After the loss, many speculated that it ended any hopes of Minnesota advancing to the College Football Playoff. While it understandably remains a long shot to get there, one loss alone likely keeps the Gophers alive.

During a Monday segment on BTN, Rick Pizzo asked if a 12-1 Minnesota team – who is also the B1G Champion – would make the Playoff? Nicole Auerbach definitely thinks so:

“I’m actually going to agree with you,” said Auerbach. “I’ve seen some people making that same argument, that a one-loss Minnesota team wouldn’t have a chance. That’s actually not true because as you point out, the quality of win they would be adding. Plus, you are talking about a one-loss B1G Championship team. The B1G is well-positioned right now.”

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Howard Griffith also carried that same line of thought. To Griffith, it’s the one-loss conference champion label that would make the difference:

“I think that’s going to be the key – B1G Conference Champ,” explained Griffith. “I think that’s going to be important, particularly this year. And you look at it, if they were able to go to Indy and come away with a win over an Ohio State team, who in my opinion is the best team in the country, and I know a lot of people consider them no worse than the second-best team in the nation…they would absolutely be in.”

Here’s the entire BTN segment:

As the two analysts pointed out, Minnesota is still alive, and not much has changed from the loss to Iowa. The Gophers were likely never going to make the Playoff without winning the B1G Championship, regardless of record. Though beating Wisconsin and Ohio State to end the season seems like a tall task, it was always going to be a necessity to win those games to make the CFP.