College Football Playoff Rankings Running Thread

Right. Explain that to Baylor, which continues to be ranked below TCU.

That Virginia Tech loss -- in Columbus, no less -- will hover over the Buckeyes. Mississippi State has only one top-25 win, but it's still in the top four based on having the best loss (Alabama). If the committee uses that down the line, then TCU (at Baylor) and Baylor (at bowl-eligible West Virginia) would have an argument against OSU there.

And at worst, they both seem certain to match OSU with at least two wins against top-25 opponents. Baylor could finish with three (TCU, Oklahoma, K-State). TCU could finish with two (Oklahoma and K-State; guessing Minnesota drops out this week or next). OSU will likely have two (Sparty and Wisconsin?; again, Minnesota likely falls).

 

Has there been enough consistency from week to week by the committee to reveal its methodology, or have some of the decisions been more of a selection of this week's bright, shiny object in an ADD/OCD fashion?

 

I for one would love to see the SEC get dinged for playing FCS schools this late in the year. Nothing drastic. Move Bama down to two or three. Those games will go away by Sunday.

 

As of today, Alabama only has one.....against Mississippi State

 

They seem pretty clearly to be looking for the best team right now, as opposed to the team with the greatest body of work over the season. That's why Alabama jumped from 5 to 1, and why two one-loss teams are ahead of an unbeaten. They also give more weight to impressive wins than they do to losses.

 

Which they should.

 

IMO

1. Alabama
2. Florida State
3. Oregon
4. Baylor

 

AP Top 10

1. Florida State
2. Alabama
3. Oregon
4. Mississippi State
5. Baylor
6. TCU
7. Ohio State
8. Georgia
9. UCLA
10. Michigan State

Coaches

1. Alabama
2. Florida State
3. Oregon
4. Mississippi State
5. TCU
6. Baylor
7. Ohio State
8. Michigan State
9. Georgia
10. UCLA

 

Seems like Florida State is getting penalized in some corners because some of its opponents (Miami, Louisville, Boston College, Notre Dame, Florida, etc.) are having sub-par years. That strikes me as unfair, given that the schedules are usually made 4-5 years in advance. You play whomever is on the schedule and the job is to win the game. Which they've done every single week.

If Alabama, or Oregon or whomever is better, fine. Isn't that the whole purpose of a playoff, to find out which team really IS better? So bring it on.

 

When you are comparing schools to schools outside of their conference, I think it's fair. Nobody is saying FSU doesn't belong in the final four, just that other teams in the mix have played a tougher schedule.

I finally found out the reason teams schedule so far out. You pay today's prices for a game four or five years away. I'd still like to see teams leave an open date (say the third week of September) and then find a school with similar aspirations. Teams looking at a top ranking playing another team looking at a top ranking, rebuilding teams playing rebuilding teams.

 

The way the system is set up the risk/reward of playing a tough non-conference team just isn't worth it.

If you are, say, Boise State and play in a weaker conference, then yeah. But if you play in a power conference and are going to have 7-8 tough conference games every year that you could actually lose, do you want to pile on a tough non-conference game on top of that? I get (and love) the regional rivalries like Florida vs. Florida State, Georgia vs. Georgia Tech, etc. (yes, Texas should always play Texas A&M). But the reason Alabama plays Western Carolina and Georgia plays Charleston Southern is that they have traditionally tough games before and after.

So for a team like Florida State, you either find a different conference to play in or hopes your conference brethren improve slightly (but not so much as to threaten your supremacy).

 

Layman and DanOregon both make some valid points, IMHO

Southern teams playing in extreme cold and/or snow would certainly be affected.
They don't see a lot of the weather such as was in the Snow Bowl Independence Classic
with A&M losing in OT to Mississippi State. (Jackie could have retired that night and claimed
six bowls in 10 seasons at State. He would have been sainted)

Anyway, DanOregon's suggestion to go ahead and schedule years out, but leave a slot or two
open for teams to find a like-thinking opponent and play a bigger matchup is very heady.

Too many SEC teams are pussying out with four cupcakes, though most only schedule 3. I think
State's non-conference slate was worst of all 14 SEC schools this season (even though when they
slated Southern Miss five years ago there was no way to know how bad the Eagles would have become)