The second week of the College Football Playoff rankings have been released, and controversy once again reigns around the CFP committee thanks to Big Ten and SEC placement.
What was going to happen to teams like Ole Miss and Kentucky, who both suffered bad losses this past weekend against Georgia and Tennessee respectively?
COLLEGE FOOTBALL SELLS ANOTHER PIECE OF ITS SOUL WITH CFP OFFICIALLY EXPANDING TO 24 TEAMS
Now, with former No. 1 ranked Miami taking its first loss of the season and dropping to No. 7 in the latest poll, Georgia was the obvious choice to take over the top spot this week, though Utah could have made a strong case as well after beating a Top-10 BYU team at home.
But, as the regular season comes to an end over the next three weeks, there are plenty of valid concerns coming from conferences like the Big Ten and Big 12.
And then we have the SEC, which currently has five teams ranked within the top-12, led by No. 1 Georgia, No. 3 Alabama, No. 6 Texas, No. 8 Tennessee and No. 11 Kentucky.
If the Wildcats were to catch another loss this season, the arguments are going to be made about the margin of defeat, and that’s one kerfuffle. I don’t know if Kentucky could win against other conference teams.
As for the Tennessee versus Alabama argument, I think we can put a pin in that one for now. The CFP committee is not going to rank the Vols ahead of the Tide, based off the number of quality wins Alabama has compared to Tennessee.
And yes, the Vols defeated Alabama by sixteen points last month.
“Alabama was in that first pool, Tennessee was not in that first pool … If you look at their schedule compared to Alabama’s schedule, the committee feels like Alabama has a stronger schedule,” CFP’s Hunter Yurachek noted.
What happens with a team like No. 19 Ole Miss, who has wins against two top-25 opponents?
They are essentially eliminated from the postseason, unless a miracle happens. The lopsided losses to Georgia and Florida, with the close loss against Texas has them needing help from others with a trip to Oklahoma this weekend, followed by games against Wofford and Mississippi State.
What about No. 21 LSU? After the loss to Alabama this past weekend, Lane Kiffin’s squad is barely hanging onto CFP hope. If the Tigers were to win out (Texas, Tennessee, Arkansas), that would mean two wins against what should be Top-10 teams to wrap the season.
Would the Tigers deserve a spot over a two-loss team? The new ranking on Tuesday night is deserved. Sure, if they were to win out, which would include wins against two Top-10 teams, maybe the conversation changes in the last week.
The bigger questions now turn to how many teams can the Big Ten get into the postseason over the next three weeks, with No. 20 Ohio State essentially being eliminated after their loss to now No. 16 Oregon. And, what happens this weekend if No. 18 USC were to stroll into Bloomington and beat No. 9 Indiana?
There is also No. 4 UCLA, which remains undefeated but has a weak strength of schedule that could hurt its playoff chances if it loses to Illinois on Friday night. UCLA also has a showdown against USC looming to close out the regular season.
On top of that, the committee felt strong enough about Alabama’s SOS to put them ahead of an undefeated Big Ten team, even with two losses on the season.
In addition to that conundrum, Indiana dropped all the way from 4th to 9th in this week’s CFP rankings, and the Hoosiers were on a bye-week. Why? Teams that Indiana had already beaten this season that helped its case took losses this past weekend.
“Indiana was probably victim of having a bye-week at the wrong time … Every team that they had played within the Big Ten lost,” CFP’s Yurachek noted about Indiana dropping during a bye-week.
In reality, this is probably where the Hoosiers deserved to be ranked last week, but the committee must have needed a little bit of anticipation for this reveal, which still does not make much sense.
If CFP members thought Indiana was the 9th best team in the country this week, then they should have had them around this spot in their first rankings.
Again, questions we are still having a hard time grasping.
Two weeks ago, most would’ve thought No. 10 BYU would find themselves in the postseason following their win over now No. 5 Notre Dame.
Now? After a very bad loss to UCF on the road, followed by the loss to No. 2 Utah last weekend, it’s the Cougars who are hanging on for dear life in terms of making the CFP. There was a strong chance that if BYU would not have lost that game to UCF, they could’ve found themselves playing for a conference title, and most likely getting into the postseason.
Not any longer. It’s No. 12 Texas Tech that now finds itself in a great spot moving forward, with wins over Arizona and Houston to bolster their resume, even with the loss to Cincinnati.
If the Red Raiders were to make the Big 12 title game to face Utah, they could find themselves potentially earning a CFP spot.
Unfortunately for the Big 12, who are hoping to get at least two teams in, No. 12 Texas Tech still has to face Oklahoma State and Baylor to close out the regular season. If they lose one of those games, the chances of representing the Big 12 are over, outside of whichever team could potentially knock off Utah in the conference title game.
But, Houston coming in at No. 14 could create an avenue that still gets the Big 12 at least two teams in. They will need some help, though.
Three weeks ago, there was a scenario in which the Big 12 potentially saw three of its teams make the postseason.
Now, this could turn into a one-bid league if Utah takes care of business and the Big 12 continues to devour itself.
Here ya go, the latest college football playoff rankings that were released on Tuesday night.
First round, on-campus, matchups if they were to take place today.
No. 12 Boise State vs. No. 5 Notre Dame
No. 11 Kentucky vs. No. 6 Texas
No. 10 BYU vs. No. 7 Miami
No. 9 Indiana vs. No. 8 Tennessee
Quack, quack, quack.
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The Oregon Ducks find themselves back in the conversation after thrashing Ohio State this past weekend in Columbus. Dan Lanning really needs USC to keep winning, given they won the matchup earlier this season in Los Angeles.
But, the Ducks might also prosper with the Trojans catching a loss to UCLA at the end of this November run, which could open up an additional spot in the Big Ten.
With South Carolina and USC moving up in the rankings, the next three weeks just got a whole lot more interesting for those two teams. The Gamecocks still host No. 1 Georgia, while USC will face No. 9 Indiana and No. 4 UCLA.
So, we’ve obviously got a wild few weeks ahead, and the committee is clearly not worried about shaking things up every Tuesday night throughout November.
Buckle up … this is going to get interesting.
