"They are like a cockroach. It isn't what he eats or totes off, but what he falls into and messes up."

Those were the words of Darrell Royal on Nov. 18, 1961. The legendary head coach was speaking of the TCU squad that had just knocked off his top-ranked Texas team, a 24-point favorite, by a score of 6-0 -- and on a trick play, no less. The upset ended the Longhorns' national title hopes and also dashed UT running back James Saxton's chances of winning the Heisman Trophy.

The '61 Horned Frogs posted a paltry 3-5-2 record, but two of those three wins were over top-ranked Texas and eighth-ranked Kansas, and one of those ties was against third-ranked Ohio State. Those tussles with TCU kept each from competing for a national title and damaged the Heisman hopes for players hailing from all three: Saxton, Buckeyes fullback Bob Ferguson and Jayhawks QB John Hadl.

That's some serious cockroaching.

These days feel an awful lot like those days. The era of the College Football Playoff, with an ever-increasing roster of one-loss beauty contestants and a selection committee that has thus far leaned toward "best/worst losses" as one of its most influential criteria, is an environment prime for growing some mighty big cockroaches -- insects much more troublesome than any mere fly in the ointment.

Who among this year's can't-be-in-the-playoff teams is in the best position to force a would-be playoff team to join it on the sideline this January? Forget Ole Miss, Auburn and even Kansas State. Their potential spoiler roles are obvious. Everyone knows the biggest, nastiest roaches are the ones that live in the places where they can't easily be seen.

Wins over Minnesota are used as evidence for TCU and Ohio State's top-10 résumés. Hannah Foslien/Getty Images

Read ahead ... but you might want to grab a can of Raid first.

The Golden Gophers have lost the two biggest games they've played, having been throttled by TCU at the beginning of the season and losing a closer one to Ohio State this past weekend. For whatever reason, the committee seems to really value those wins for TCU and OSU. It is pointed to as evidence that TCU is better than Baylor, despite a head-to-head loss to the Bears. It was also used as reasoning behind bumping the Buckeyes up two spots, just behind TCU.

Minnesota's final two games are against Nebraska and Wisconsin, the final two legs of a round-robin tournament to determine the Big Ten West. Should the Gophers drop both games -- and drop both badly -- does it devalue what were previously viewed as quality wins for TCU and Ohio State in the middle of that scrum for the CFB playoff No. 4 spot? But if they win both, does it hurt or help? It could simultaneously help TCU, because that win continues to look better, and water down a potential Ohio State Big Ten championship. Weird, right?

Yes, The Swamp is a dumpster fire. Yes, Will Muschamp is a lame duck head coach. Yes, the headlines in Gainesville are already dedicated to the 2015 team even as the 2014 squad still likely has three more games left to play -- Eastern Kentucky, Florida State and a bowl game.

It's that game in the middle that people don't need to assume will go down the way we all think that it will. We made that mistake Nov. 1, when the Gators romped against Playoff-hopeful Georgia, 38-20.

Sure, the FSU game isn't at a neutral site like the UGA game. And sure, FSU hasn't lost in forever, but this Florida roster has always been plenty talented. Now it has a handful of aspects in hand that it's lacked throughout the Muschamp era: anger, motivation, nothing to lose and no one to whom it must answer. Besides, how many more times can the Noles flirt with disaster by posting awful first halves before it finally catches up?

The Gators have already potentially ruined the season for one of their biggest rivals. Making it 2-for-2 would salvage this lost season.

The ACC Coastal isn't a dumpster fire. It's a spaghetti pile. But a two-team race has emerged from the mess between defending division champ Duke and a steadily improving Yellow Jackets squad. Tech's conference schedule is done, so it is left to sit and watch Duke host North Carolina on Thursday night and Wake Forest to close out the regular season. If the Blue Devils lose either one of those, Tech faces FSU in Charlotte for the ACC title.

GT has quietly accented its triple-option craft with some downfield passing this season. But still, Paul Johnson has the kind of alien approach to his offense that gives opposing defensive coaches night terrors, especially when it's running at full song.

There are plenty of people within the FSU program who admit privately that they would rather see Duke and its more traditional pro-style offense on Dec. 6. And getting back to that concept of a teetering FSU, falling to a two- or three-loss Georgia Tech team wouldn't hold up well in the crowded beauty contest of one-loss teams.

If Georgia Tech can beat in-state rival Georgia, the SEC championship could get more interesting. Mike Stewart/Associated Press

But even if Tech doesn't win the Coastal, its wrecking-ball ability could reach beyond the ACC. If Missouri stumbles against Tennessee this weekend (totally possible), it would allow Georgia to slide into the SEC title game. But if the Ramblin' Wreck upset the Dawgs in Athens over Thanksgiving weekend, it would make life mighty hard for the SEC West champion to make the playoff if it loses to UGA in Atlanta.

The Pac-12 South

UCLA plows into the Battle of Los Angeles with USC this weekend in control of its division destiny. If the Bruins win out (USC and Stanford are both home games), they will face Oregon in the Pac-12 title game. If they lose one of those games, chaos reigns in the only conference division featuring five ranked teams.

But no matter which team from the South ends up playing the Ducks in Santa Clara, California, it will be dangerous. UCLA, USC, Arizona, Arizona State and resurgent Utah are all certainly good enough to be dangerous in a one-game-for-everything situation. But at best the representative will be carrying at least two losses. If Oregon loses, the entire conference will miss out on the playoff. (Oh, by the way, this is where I remind you that Oregon State had Oregon against the ropes the past two years.)

Did you see the Horns run over West Virginia two weeks ago? That was easily the most impressive win of the still-new Charlie Strong era and marked his first back-to-back wins at the helm after the Longhorns handled Texas Tech the week before. Last weekend they made it three in a row by crushing Oklahoma State 28-7. Now they get a week off to prepare for a Thanksgiving Day home date with TCU, which will be coming off a bizarrely difficult struggle against Kansas. Earlier this year Texas held Baylor to 28 points and less than 400 yards of offense, so there's no reason to think it can't do the same with the Horned Frogs' overhauled offense. Add to that a Texas offense that has quietly rediscovered the end zone, and it all adds up to potential trouble.

Should TCU lose and Baylor fall on Dec. 6 to another tough out, Kansas State, the entire Big 12 will be aching.

No doubt there will be some burnt orange old-timers in the grandstand who remember the 1961 loss to TCU that derailed the Horns' title hopes. And if Coach Royal was still around, he'd no doubt be on the sideline with his battle cry at the ready.

Unleash the cockroaches.