WARNING: This is a Pro SEC article. This may offend some college football fans.
Phew, now that we have the warning line out of the way we can officially get down to business.
The new College Football rankings don’t make any sense. Simply put, teams do not get rewarded for scheduling and playing other tough teams.
There are some obvious flaws. Let’s start with the Big 10 bias.
I have no issue with Oregon being ranked the number one team. They have played a tough schedule and successfully managed an undefeated season to this point. Especially when considering they played eight straight weeks! I also have no issue with Ohio State being ranked two. Should you be punished for playing the number one team on the road and losing on the last possession? No. But, according to the committee's rankings on other teams, they don't carry the same philosophy.
Penn State proves to be a huge red flag at the number four spot. The best win they have is against Illinois which barely made their way back into the rankings this week. They really haven’t proved to anyone that they are a top five team in the country. I have no issue with them being in the playoff, but being ranked so high has me confused. I struggle to understand why the committee has such regard for Big Ten teams when the conference is so top heavy and almost none of those teams have really played each other. Lastly, Indiana being ranked at number five has some obvious flaws. I agree, for the most part (outside of taking Louisville off its schedule) the Hoosiers got a tough draw. Their schedule is way easier than anyone would have expected a year ago. That being said, they should not be a lock to make the playoffs. They need to prove they are just as competitive as Ohio State on Saturday.
Is it unfair? No. Just because you beat up on bad teams does not mean you should automatically get in. Since Ohio State is the only Playoff caliber team on its schedule they most show up. If Indiana wins they should solidify a top five spot but if they lose they should be on the bubble.
At six is the Notre Dame Irish. THEY HAVE THE WORST LOSS IN THE COUNTRY. This is not an anti Notre Dame take. I agree that they should belong in if they win the rest of their games. Being ranked at six is way too high.
Alabama being ranked at seven is totally fine with me. There should be a punishment for having two losses when one of them is to Vanderbilt. That being said, Alabama has proved this year to play well against good teams.
Miami at number eight is a huge issue. I believe they should be on the bubble. They have a solid win at Louisville but that's their best win! They are no longer an undefeated team and should be ranked behind Alabama and Georgia for sure. Arguably they should be ranked behind Ole Miss and Tennessee as well!
Ole Miss at number nine is fine with me. They have a really bad loss to Kentucky but they also have some good wins. They dominated against Georgia and they should be rewarded for that.
Here is the biggest issue of this ranking. Georgia should not be tenth in the rankings. Their two losses are both on the road against top 10 teams. You shouldn’t get punished for that. Understandably they shouldn’t be the top, they do have two losses and games do matter. That being said, they have the best group of wins in the country. At the very least they should be hosting a playoff game in the first round.
Outside of the top 10 there are some significant issues as well.
I mainly look at the 13/14 spot. Both BYU and SMU have identical records. The key part is they both only have one loss. BYU beat SMU earlier this year and is ranked behind them. That makes no sense.
I also have no clue how Missouri didn't drop out of the rankings. They have no good wins.
I actually totally agree with Boise State’s ranking. They deserve to control their own destiny. They have played extremely well and played a playoff caliber team (Oregon) to a three point loss. They proved they can play with the best.
Here is how I would rank the top 15
Oregon
Ohio State
Texas
Georgia
Penn State
Indiana
Alabama
Ole Miss
Notre Dame
Tennessee
Boise State
Miami
BYU
SMU
Arizona State
The College Football Playoff committee has sent a message that playing a tough schedule does not matter as much as being undefeated (with the exception of Army). I believe that there should be more grace for teams that have played a harder schedule.
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