There’s little doubt surrounding the earned spots in College Football Playoff by teams like the Georgia Bulldogs and the Ohio State Buckeyes, but things get a little bit murky from there and there is a handful of teams currently on the outside looking in with a very real chance to make their way into the postseason.

That’s largely looked at as the likes of TCU, Tennessee and USC.

College football insider Andy Staples of The Athletic recently joined “McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning” to discuss how he thought things could realistically shake out.

When it comes down to the Trojans and the Volunteers specifically for the final spot, Staples says he sees the committee putting Tennessee in over USC even if they do finish as a strong conference champion because the former is simply the better team. Staples also said that advanced and predictive stats play a role here, even though he doesn’t think the committee is concerned with betting lines and things of that nature.

As with all things with college football, anything can happen, and there’s sure to be controversy and mixed opinions abound regardless of who gets the No. 4 seed in the end.