Here is Army West Point Black Knights' Biggest College Football Playoff Hurdle

The Army Black Knights, even if they go undefeated, will still need some help to make their College Football Playoff dreams come true.

Nov 9, 2024; Denton, Texas, USA; Army Black Knights head coach Jeff Monken celebrates with his players after 14-3 win against the North Texas Mean Green at DATCU Stadium. / Danny Wild-Imagn Images

Army West Point has been one of the biggest surprises in college football during the 2024 season.

They have come out of nowhere in their first season in the American Athletic Conference and are looking to run the table. They are currently 9-0 overall and 7-0 in the conference, already clinching a spot in the AAC Championship Game against the Tulane Green Wave. That's a first for the program that has been independent for most of its existence.

It will certainly be interesting to see how the College Football Playoff committee handles things should the Black Knights run the table.

The biggest game in recent program history is set for Saturday against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who are ranked No. 6 in the country in the AP Top 25. The Black Knights are ranked No. 18. The game is almost a quasi-CFP elimination game.

After that, Army closes out the regular season hosting the UTSA Roadrunners, followed by the AAC title game against Tulane. The Black Knights' annual rivalry game against the Navy Midshipmen will be played after the CFP field is selected, so a win over the Midshipmen won't help Army.

Making it through these next three games undefeated would be a strong finish to the season.

But, there is a world in which that wouldn’t be enough for them to push in the 12-team CFP field.

Four weeks ago, their odds of Army making the playoff sat at 24.5 percent. Despite not losing a game since, the Black Knights' odds have been cut by more than half, to 10.6 percent.

Being the underdogs against the Fighting Irish certainly plays plays a role. But, there is another factor they have no control over — the success of the Boise State Broncos.

As shared by Bill Connelly of ESPN, the Mountain West Conference title contenders remaining undefeated in league action has hurt the Black Knights.

“Army is still unbeaten and might even still control its destiny — with an upset of Notre Dame and a ranked Tulane, the Black Knights could rise quite a bit from their No. 24 perch in the CFP rankings. But (A) SP+ gives them only a 9% chance of beating both Notre Dame and Tulane, and (B) they were 11 spots behind Boise State last week, and the Broncos avoided a potential landmine in handling San José State on Saturday evening. This is a mountain to climb, and we won't really know if Army QB Bryson Daily is 100 percent healthy until he takes the field against Notre Dame."

That is a lot working against Army. The odds are slim of them entering the Army-Navy Game undefeated. But, if they can climb that mountain undefeated, — and get a little help in the form of a loss by Boise State — it would make for some incredible headlines and put the committee under intense pressure.