Forget what everybody is trying to tell you. This is important. Sure it's not the final rankings, but it's the starting point, and I love it. The College Football Playoff begins to take shape tonight.
I mentioned on the radio show last night that one of the things I like about the College Football Playoff rankings is that they represent the mythical poll we used to talk about like it was a unicorn.
Remember the conversations and talking points on radio shows everywhere when the AP and Coaches wielded the majority of influence on who got the right to play for the title?
"Why can't we have a poll that comes out after the season gets started so that we can evaluate these teams before we rank them?", guests would say.
It's here. You have your mid-season poll.
Welcome to the College Football Playoff era.
For roughly ten weeks, we've looked at the AP and Coaches polls knowing that no matter where your team was ranked, it wasn't official.
Not at all.
Take a moment and jot down five teams. Done? Great. Now look at your list and rank those teams. Ta-da! You've just created a poll as valuable as the AP and Coaches polls have been thus far.
But tonight around 7:45, we begin to get official. It's the start of an exciting month of football.
Some teams have played their way out of the top four. See Mississippi State 2014.
Some teams have held serve throughout the College Football Playoff rankings. See Alabama 2016.
Some teams have played their way into the playoffs. See Michigan State 2015.
Some teams have played their way out, then played their way in, then back out. See TCU 2014.
This is when it gets real.
The college football playoff committee evaluates many different criteria to come up with the top pairings. In recent years they focused on quality wins, strength of record, conference championships, being undefeated, and a litany of other measurables.
I'm not nearly as scientific.
I use my gut and here is what my gut tells me.
#1 Alabama - "No one has done less and been recognized more this season."
The Crimson Tide check all of the boxes except for one, quality wins. However, over the next four weeks, that should change as they face LSU, Mississippi State, and Auburn. The back end of Alabama's schedule has the potential to deliver the quality wins that they are currently missing.
Their win over Florida State at the beginning of the season should have been a quality victory for them, but the wheels have fallen off for the Seminoles. Based on how FSU has played, you can only speculate as to whether or not Deondre Francois would have made that much of a difference. He's really good, but the Seminoles look really bad.
#2 Georgia - "There isn't a better resume and record in college football right now."
I find it extremely difficult to believe the Bulldogs will manage to run the table into the SEC Championship game, but Kirby Smart has his team playing well.
I am also not convinced that they are as good as some seem to think.
What I can't argue with it what they have done. There are five unbeaten teams, and Georgia's road win at Notre Dame and blowout of Mississippi State are the two best-combined wins among the undefeated teams.
The argument that Georgia's 20-19 victory in South Bend, Indiana over Notre Dame is almost indisputable.
In just two seasons, Kirby Smart has managed to mimic the look and feel of Nick Saban's early Alabama squads.
Georgia isn't Alabama, yet. They may never be Alabama. They certainly aren't respected like Alabama, and that's why they will trail the Crimson Tide.
If this were about what you've done on the field, the Bulldogs would be the clear-cut number one to open the College Football Playoff rankings.
#3 Notre Dame - "They keep getting better every weekend."
The Fighting Irish have one loss this season, to the Georgia team that I've got ranked one spot ahead of Notre Dame. They are putting together an impressive resume, and this past weekend knocked off NC State 35-14.
Out of the teams that I am placing in my top four, I would label Notre Dame as the “most likely to have the wheels fall off.”
They have a tough closing stretch, and if they win out, they would deserve a spot in the playoff.
#4 Ohio State - "They have a win over Penn State, who has a win over Michigan, who has a win over Florida. I'm not sold."
Unfortunately for the defending national champion, Clemson Tigers, last season's dismantling of Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl 31-0 will not be enough to overcome the reputation of the Buckeyes.
Ohio State has the second-best coach of his generation in Urban Meyer, and that's a tremendous advantage for any team, but I don't buy the Big 10. I also do not buy the Buckeyes. This is a team that suffered a 15 point home loss and built their resume knocking off juggernauts like Maryland and Rutgers.
Sure, they have a win over Penn State, but who have the Nittany Lions defeated? Michigan?
It would be nice to be able to say, "I think the college football playoff committee will judge everything off of the body of work," but look no further than my Georgia and Alabama comparison above.
Much like the Bulldogs will find themselves sitting behind the brand of Alabama; the Clemson Tigers will sit behind the brand of Ohio State.
First two out:
#5 Clemson -
Outside of Georgia, the Tigers have arguably the best resume in college football. They are also the defending national champions.
Selfishly, I believe they have the right to defend that title at this point. But if that's the argument I am willing to make, then I am also willing to accept that brand value, and recognition still skews the results.
I'm okay with that because Clemson's brand and value are continuing to rise and the Tigers, in the very near future, will receive the benefit of the doubt.
#6 Wisconsin -
I don't trust them as far as I can throw them, but slow and steady wins the race. The Badgers are in a conference that is extremely overrated. Because of that, they might have a chance to sneak into the playoff by becoming the best of the worst.
Bottom Four:
#7 Penn State
#8 Oklahoma
#9 Miami
#10 TCU
So there you have it, my first look at the College Football Playoff rankings. Let me know what you think by commenting in this thread.
