Yeah. It's true. At 8-2, the University of Central Oklahoma is still very much alive for the postseason. And not just the Mineral Water Bowl.

The Bronchos, who finish the season next week by hosting No. 5 Pittsburg State (9-1), might still be able to sneak into the playoffs in the super-tight Super Region 3.

But wait. Hasn't it been said for weeks that no 2-loss team will make the playoffs in Super Region 3? Yes. And it still seems unlikely, but I love playing the "what-if" game, and the deeper I dive into it, the more I see that it actually COULD happen.

So to get a better idea of how I'm figuring exactly HOW this could happen, let's take a look at the Super Region 3 Regional Rankings heading into the week, how they fared and who they finish with next week.

1. MSU-Mankato (10-0) won 49-0 at Wayne State. vs Upper Iowa (6-4)
2. Ouachita Baptist (9-0) won 47-10 at Arkansas-Monticello. at No. 10 (SR3-10) Henderson State (9-1)
3. Minnesota Duluth (10-0) won 53-35 vs Mary. at Minot State (1-9)
4. Pittsburg State (9-1) won 38-31 vs Central Missouri. at Central Oklahoma (8-2)
5. Northwest Missouri (9-1) won 42-14 at Emporia State. vs Washburn (4-6) at Arrowhead Stadium
6. Azusa Pacific (9-1) won 21-6 at Simon Fraser. vs Menlo (NAIA)
7. Sioux Falls (9-1) won 45-21 vs Upper Iowa. vs Wayne State (5-5)
8. Humboldt State (8-2) lost 33-31 at Western Oregon. Doesn't matter who they play next week. They're done.
9. Harding (8-1) won 41-14 at East Central. vs Arkansas Tech (3-7)
10. Henderson State (9-1) won 55-41 at Southern Arkansas. vs No. 21 (SR3-2) Ouachita Baptist (9-0)

So Humboldt, with a weak SOS, picks up its second loss, dropping them out of the picture. The only other 2-loss team in the region is.... you guessed it: Central Oklahoma. The Bronchos should sneak into No. 10 in this week's rankings, with them looking something like this:

1. Mankato
2. Ouachita
3. Duluth
4. Pitt
5. Northwest
6. Azusa
7. Sioux
8. Harding
9. Henderson
10. UCO

Still, how could UCO jump 4 spots into the playoff field? If they beat Pitt, they'd still likely need losses from Asuza AND Sioux AND Harding AND Henderson. I suppose that's possible, but if that were the only possibility, I probably wouldn't have written an entire blog on it.

There's another way.

What if Washburn upsets Northwest Missouri? Follow me here. That, along with a UCO win over Pitt, would put all 3 at 2 losses. They would all share a conference title and find themselves all packed together in the Regional Rankings.

Even if the rest of the teams above UCO all win, that would leave UCO, PITT and NW at 8, 9 and 10 in the Regional Rankings. Remember Earned Access? Any conference (in most cases) that lands a team in the top 8 of the Regional Rankings will be represented in the playoffs.

I think UCO would deserve the top spot among the 3, if they finish in a 3-way tie with Northwest and Pitt. Here's why.

In this scenario, Pitt beat Northwest. Northwest beat UCO. UCO beat Pitt. So there's no clear-cut head-to-head winner there. All 3 have the same strength of schedule. So I'm putting the emphasis on losses. Now losses aren't a real "factor" in terms of determining the numbers that decide the Regional Rankings, but if the committee has to make a decision like this, why not take them into consideration.

In addition to the losses to each other, Northwest, in this scenario, would have a "bad" loss to a 5-6 Washburn team. Pitt's other loss would be to Hays, who will finish 7-4 or 6-5. UCO's would be to Central Missouri, who will finish 8-3 or 7-4.

Northwest is the loser there, and is eliminated. UCO will have beaten Pitt, so... boom. The Bronchos are No. 8 and in the playoffs.

More scenarios to finish the season

I'll admit. The above isn't all that likely. If I was a bettin' man, I'd feel safe saying that either Northwest OR Pittsburg State will win next week and Central Oklahoma misses the playoffs. So the Bronchos are a shoe-in for the Mineral Water Bowl, right?

No.

The Mineral Water Bowl - I will call it the MWB from here on out - will be a matchup of the highest-finishing MIAA & NSIC teams who do not make the playoffs. Seems simple enough, but there's still a lot of scenarios that could play out, and any of 4 MIAA teams - Northwest, Pitt, Central Oklahoma and Central Missouri - could end up playing in Excelsior Springs on Dec. 6.

Because 2 of the above teams - Central Oklahoma and Pitt State - play each other next week, there are only 3 games that matter when it comes to postseason positioning. Pitt plays at UCO, Northwest faces Washburn at Arrowhead Stadium and Central Missouri ends the season at home against Fort Hays State.

Here's what we know. Or at least what we think we know:

1. Pittsburg State and Northwest Missouri both control their own destiny. Either or both will be in the playoffs if they win. Either or both will miss the field if they lose.

2. There are no tie-breakers when it comes to a conference championship. ANY number of teams with the same record after next week will SHARE the MIAA title.

3. If 2 teams finish in a tie for the top non-playoff spot, the MWB gets to choose between the 2, but I am told the selection committee will "99 percent sure" pick the H2H winner.

So keeping all of that in mind, here's the possible scenarios and what will happen if each plays out.

* If Northwest wins, Pitt beats UCO and Central wins -- Northwest & Pitt would share the MIAA title and both be in playoffs. UCM gets in the MWB due to H2H over UCO.

* If Northwest wins, Pitt beats UCO and Central loses -- Northwest & Pitt would share the MIAA title and both be in playoffs. UCO finishes 8-3, 1 game ahead of 7-4 UCM. The Bronchos would be in the MWB.

* If Northwest wins, UCO beats Pitt and Central wins -- Northwest would win outright MIAA title and be in playoffs. UCO and Pitt would both finish 9-2 and miss the playoffs. UCO would get in MWB due to H2H over Pitt.

* If Northwest wins, UCO beats Pitt and Central loses -- Northwest would win outright MIAA title and be in playoffs. UCO and Pitt would both finish 9-2 and miss the playoffs. UCO would get in MWB due to H2H over Pitt.

* If Northwest loses, Pitt beats UCO and Central wins -- Pitt would win outright MIAA title and be in playoffs. Northwest would finish 9-2, miss the playoffs and be 1 game ahead of 3-loss UCO & UCM. The Bearcats would get the MWB.

* If Northwest loses, Pitt beats UCO and Central loses Pitt would win outright MIAA title and be in playoffs. Northwest would finish 9-2, miss the playoffs and be 1 game ahead of 3-loss UCO. The Bearcats would get the MWB.

* If Northwest loses, UCO beats Pitt and Central wins -- Northwest, Pitt and UCO, all 9-2, would share the MIAA title. As I outlined earlier in this blog, I think UCO would be the only of the 3 to make the playoffs. Pitt would get the MWB.

* If Northwest loses, UCO beats Pitt and Central loses -- Northwest, Pitt and UCO, all 9-2, would share the MIAA title. As I outlined earlier in this blog, I think UCO would be the only of the 3 to make the playoffs. Pitt would get the MWB.

What do you think?

Do you agree that UCO should be the MIAA representative in the playoffs IF they beat Pitt and Northwest loses next week?

How do you think the final week of the season will play out?