With a favorable schedule ahead, Texas Tech is inching toward the College Football Playoff, barring a late-season disaster.

The Red Raiders have flown under the radar for much of the season after they were an offseason headliner for building the “best team money can buy,” as one Big 12 coach put it.

They’ve used their roster upgrades well and validated the money infused into the program, racing to a dominant 6-0 start with wins over Utah and Kansas.

At the season’s midpoint, the Red Raiders have a 79 percent chance to make the College Football Playoff, according to the model from Austin Mock of The Athletic. The Red Raiders have the fifth-best odds to make the Playoff of any team in the country. They have a 61 percent chance to win the Big 12, making them the biggest favorite of any power-conference team.

It’s a combination of the quality of their team, their résumé and the remaining schedule. The Red Raiders have played the No. 22 schedule to this point, but have only the No. 59 schedule remaining.

BYU is the lone ranked team left on Texas Tech’s schedule, and the Red Raiders host the Cougars on Nov. 8. The only other opponent above .500 is Arizona State, which might be without quarterback Sam Leavitt when it hosts Texas Tech on Saturday. Leavitt missed last week’s 42-10 loss at Utah.

Texas Tech is heavily favored in all of its remaining games:

Texas Tech’s remaining schedule

The odds are good news in Lubbock, but underscore a likely reality for the Big 12: It might require Texas Tech continuing to win and an upset in the title game to get more than one team in the 12-team Playoff field.

BYU has scratched and clawed to road wins at Arizona and Colorado to reach 6-0, but it still only has a 7 percent chance to make the field, below Utah (28 percent). That’s because BYU still hosts Utah and has difficult road trips to Iowa State, Texas Tech and Cincinnati. Cincinnati (5-1) has a 7 percent chance to make the Playoff, but it also has a 7 percent chance to win the Big 12 — implying the Bearcats’ at-large hopes are slim.

The Utes (5-1) going on a late-season run — perhaps ignited by a Holy War victory on Saturday — and matching up with a 12-0 or 11-1 Texas Tech is the most likely scenario in which the conference puts multiple teams in the field.

However, for now, Texas Tech stands alone.

Stock up: Indiana

Indiana (6-0) is right alongside Texas Tech as an overwhelming favorite after beating Oregon in Eugene. That’s a massive win that boosted the Hoosiers’ odds of returning to the Playoff from 51 percent to an astounding 91 percent, one of the biggest jumps of the season and the most significant jump of the week by far.

Now, only two teams have better odds to make the field than Indiana: Ohio State and Miami.

Stock down: Missouri

The Tigers (5-1) had an opportunity to knock off Alabama at home but couldn’t make key defensive stops. A frantic rally ended with a Beau Pribula interception to seal a 27-24 Alabama win. After the loss, their odds of making the field went from 29 percent to just 14 percent.

The loss sent Missouri from on the bubble to needing to do a lot in the second half of the season to make the field. The Tigers have three ranked teams left on their schedule: at Vanderbilt, at Oklahoma and a home game against Texas A&M. They’ll likely have to win two of those three, hold serve at home against a plucky Mississippi State team and win on the road at Auburn to make the field. It’s not impossible, but the Alabama loss likely cost Missouri nearly all its breathing room.

Bubble watch games of the weekNo. 11 Tennessee (5-1) at No. 6 Alabama (5-1) (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC)

Both teams are on the right side of the bubble and in the bracket for now, but that will change this Saturday. Alabama has beaten three consecutive top 20 teams to boost its odds of making the field back to 81 percent. Tennessee is at just 32 percent. The loser of this game takes a sizable hit.

If Tennessee beats Alabama:

Tennessee CFP odds: 60 percent
Alabama CFP odds: 56 percent

If Alabama beats Tennessee:

Alabama CFP odds: 87 percent
Tennessee CFP odds: 21 percent
No. 20 USC (5-1) at No. 13 Notre Dame (4-2) (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC)

The Trojans have a 31 percent chance to make the field after beating Michigan at home. A win in South Bend would put them in contention for an at-large bid. They have just a 5 percent chance of winning the Big Ten. Meanwhile, Notre Dame will be in deep trouble if it takes a third loss. The Irish have 71 percent odds for now.

If USC beats Notre Dame:

USC CFP odds: 62 percent
Notre Dame CFP odds: 15 percent

If Notre Dame beats USC:

Notre Dame CFP odds: 78 percent
USC CFP odds: 22 percent
No. 5 Ole Miss (6-0) at No. 9 Georgia (5-1) (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC)

Both have a better than 70 percent chance to make the field, and neither falls below 50 with a loss. However, the loser is likely going to have work to do in the back half of the season. Ole Miss still has a trip to Oklahoma, but the schedule eases up after that with no ranked teams. A win creates a clear path for Ole Miss to make it to Atlanta for the SEC championship.

If Ole Miss beats Georgia:

Ole Miss CFP odds: 92 percent
Georgia CFP odds: 50 percent

If Georgia beats Ole Miss:

Georgia CFP odds: 81 percent
Ole Miss CFP odds: 63 percent
Other notables
If LSU defeats Vanderbilt on Saturday, its Playoff odds increase from 18 to 26 percent. However, a loss drops the Tigers to 4 percent.
Georgia Tech’s odds grow from 32 to 46 percent with a win at Duke, but plummet to 19 percent with a loss.
Texas Tech’s odds continue to increase, going to 90 percent with a win over ASU. However, even with a loss, the model gives the Red Raiders a 68 percent chance of making the Playoff.