The final month of college football has arrived and with it the unveiling of the first College Football Playoff rankings. Up until this week, we relied on rankings that ultimately don’t matter in the grand scheme of things. The first playoff ranking dropped this past Tuesday and it was surprising to say the least. I had several issues with what the committee did; however I held my complaints for the evening to watch the Braves win the World Series and bring Atlanta it’s first championship in 26 years. Georgia is looking to continue the trend set by the Braves and end a long title drought of their own. The committee ranked UGA at one, as they should; however what transpired behind Georgia is where things get dicey.
The selection committee ranked Alabama second, despite their loss to Texas A&M and the Tide overall not looking like their dominant self at times this season. I can already hear people saying that the Tide would crush everyone behind them in the rankings and that Bama is the second most talented team in the nation. The rankings should not be based on who has the biggest brand or pure roster talent, the results need to matter above all else. If Alabama runs the table, by all means they should be in the playoff as the one seed. However, the writing is on the wall; a two loss Alabama might get in if things go their way.
My biggest issue with Bama being second is that it gives the committee an opportunity to put Alabama in the top four if they lose to Georgia in the SEC title. If Alabama was in the 4-6 range, where they should be, they wouldn’t have any room for error and a loss to UGA would for sure knock them out. But if they keep Alabama at two and they lose close to UGA, they can be dropped and remain in the top four.
One of the most egregious rankings on Tuesday was Mississippi State coming in at 17, with losses to Memphis and LSU, along with a one-point win over Louisiana Tech. Yes the Bulldogs beat Texas A&M and Kentucky, but their body of work is way too flawed to be a top 25 team. Everyone focuses on the top ten in these rankings, but the committee can use the last 15 spots to manipulate resumes. By ranking Mississippi State as high as they did, the committee makes Alabama’s resume look better and gives them a ranked win they shouldn’t have.
There were two main teams that got snubbed by the initial playoff rankings. The first was Michigan State, who has returned to prominence behind second year head coach Mel Tucker and stormed out to an 8-0 start. The Spartans picked up a huge win this past weekend against rival Michigan behind a five-touchdown day from the Heisman frontrunner, Kenneth Walker III. How the Spartans are ranked lower than the Crimson Tide is beyond me. Michigan State is undefeated and the Tide are not, and Sparty now has a much better win than Alabama does.
The second team that got disrespected by the committee was Cincinnati, who were ranked sixth. While this is the highest a Group of Five team has ever been ranked in the playoff rankings, it is still too low for a team that has earned the right to control its destiny. The Bearcats are undefeated with a top ten win on the road against Notre Dame, and while they haven’t played their best football these past couple of weeks, the Bearcats still deserve to be ranked ahead of Alabama and Oregon. Like Michigan State, Cincy has a better win than Bama and no losses. I’d also argue Cincinnati should be ahead of Oregon, who lost to 3-5 Stanford and struggled with unranked Cal and UCLA in recent weeks. Yes the Ducks have the Ohio State win, but they have faltered since then and haven’t looked remotely like a top four team.
Oklahoma fans were probably shocked to see the Sooners ranked 8th after a rocky 9-0 start. Don’t panic, Sooner fans, you still control your destiny to the playoff. If the Sooners can take care of Oklahoma State and Baylor and win the Big 12 title, they will make it no matter what. This ranking means the Sooners have no room for error though, as one loss will likely end the Sooners playoff hopes due to their ugly wins against weak competition.
College Football Top 25 Rankings
1.Georgia Bulldogs (8-0) W vs Florida 34-7, last week-1
2.Michigan State Spartans (8-0) W vs Michigan 37-33, last week-7
3.Cincinnati Bearcats (8-0) W vs Tulane 31-12, last week-2
4.Oklahoma Sooners (9-0) W vs Texas Tech 52-21, last week-3
5.Ohio State Buckeyes (7-1) W vs Penn State 33-24, last week-4
6.Alabama Crimson Tide (7-1) Bye Week, last week-5
7.Michigan Wolverines (7-1) L vs Michigan State 37-33, last week-6
8.Oregon Ducks (7-1) W vs Colorado 52-29, last week-10
9.Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-1) W vs North Carolina 44-34, last week-11
10.Wake Forest Demon Deacons (8-0) W vs Duke 45-7, last week-14
11.Oklahoma State Cowboys (7-1) W vs Kansas 55-3, last week-15
12.Auburn Tigers (6-2) W vs Ole Miss 31-20, last week-19
13.Texas A&M Aggies (6-2) Bye Week, last week-16
14.Baylor Bears (7-1) W vs Texas 31-24, last week-20
15.Ole Miss Rebels (6-2) L vs Auburn 31-20, last week-9
16.UTSA Roadrunners (8-0) Bye Week, last week-21
17.Iowa Hawkeyes (6-2) L vs Wisconsin 27-7, last week-8
18.Kentucky Wildcats (6-2) L vs Mississippi State 31-17, last week-12
19.Houston Cougars (7-1) W vs SMU 44-37, last week-unranked
20.SMU Mustangs (7-1) L vs Houston 44-37, last week-13
21.Penn State Nittany Lions (5-3) L vs Ohio State 33-24, last week-18
22.Arkansas Razorbacks (5-3) Bye Week, last week-24
23.Wisconsin Badgers (5-3) W vs Iowa 27-7, last week-unranked
24.Fresno State Bulldogs (7-2) W vs San Diego State 30-20, last week-unranked
25.Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns (7-1) W vs Texas State 45-0, last week-unranked
Dropped out of rankings- Pittsburgh, San Diego State, Iowa State, Coastal Carolina