The 3 best teams left out of the College Football Playoff

There are no complaints about the 2015 College Football Playoff field, but there will be plenty of regrets for a handful of teams as they prepare for games other than the Cotton Bowl and Orange Bowl.

Iowa will never forget LJ Scott’s last-minute touchdown run that gave Michigan State a 16-13 win in the Big Ten championship game and a berth in the four-team CFP field, but Demetrious Cox’s interception plucked off the back of teammate Riley Bullough in the end zone was just as important. A Hawkeyes field goal on that drive late in the first half could have sent the game to overtime. A touchdown might have kept the Spartans from ever launching their marathon 22-play march toward a potential national championship.

A 12-1 season is an incredible accomplishment for Iowa, but it will never replace the thought of what might have been.

Here are three other teams likely to be wrestling with regrets:

Ohio State

The Buckeyes entered the season as heavy favorites to defend their national championship, but rarely lived up to their promise or potential. The quarterback competition between J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones was mishandled from the beginning, while the loss of offensive coordinator Tom Herman resulted in questionable play-calling for much of the season. Team chemistry seemed to be an issue, and suspensions for off-field conduct certainly did not help matters.

In spite of all those issues, Ohio State needed only to defeat a Michigan State team playing without starting quarterback Connor Cook to lock up its spot in the Big Ten title game and stay in the CFP mix. Instead, a 17-14 loss where star running back Ezekiel Elliott lambasted coaches after only getting 12 carries pretty much summed up the dysfunction on and off the field this season.

As the draft next spring and in years to come will surely prove, Ohio State was perhaps the most gifted team in the country. However, talent cannot overcome a toxic environment, giving coach Urban Meyer his second disappointing one-loss regular season in the last three years. If losing one game can cause mass hysteria, it is a reminder of how good Meyer is and how high stakes are in Columbus.

TCU

In a season in which injuries to marquee players became a shockingly common occurrence, no team was gutted like TCU. The Horned Frogs lost 20 starters for 103 man-games and had to rely on a staggering 30 freshmen. Star quarterback Trevone Boykin and wide receiver Josh Doctson each went down with ailments in the heart of the backloaded Big 12 schedule. Yet, TCU could have snuck into the CFP as conference champions if not for a gutsy but questionable decision against Oklahoma.

Coach Gary Patterson had the Frogs go for two early in the third quarter to try and cut the Sooners’ lead to one score. Then, in the final seconds, Patterson went for two and the win instead of taking OU to overtime. Reserve quarterback Bram Kohlhausen’s pass was batted down, proving to be the difference in deciding the Big 12 champion. After last season's "One True Champion" mess that kept TCU and Baylor out of the CFP in favor of Ohio State, the Frogs would not have been left out again at 11-1.

With emerging playmakers like wide receiver KaVontae Turpin and linebacker Ty Summers, TCU can be in the mix for conference titles and CFP bids for years to come. That will be little solace for those players who endured last year's snub and this year's near-miss.

Notre Dame

Speaking of ill-advised two-point conversions, the Fighting Irish's season came down to three of them. Coach Brian Kelly started chasing points in a monsoon at Clemson when two successful extra points instead of two failed conversion tries would have sent Notre Dame to overtime with all the momentum on its side. Kelly also went for two in the third quarter at Stanford, again failing and again ending up on the wrong end of a two-point loss.

Notre Dame overcame a host of injuries to finish the season at 10-2 and likely secure a spot in the Fiesta Bowl for the first time since 2006, but a handful of plays cost the Irish a playoff berth. The presence of left tackle Ronnie Stanley and linebacker Jaylon Smith would have made Notre Dame legitimate contenders to claim its first national title in nearly three decades.