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Twitter Explodes Over TCU’s Inexplicable Drop In Rankings

ByPhil Watson|
Dec 6, 2014; Fort Worth, TX, USA; TCU Horned Frogs fans during the game against the Iowa State Cyclones at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 6, 2014; Fort Worth, TX, USA; TCU Horned Frogs fans during the game against the Iowa State Cyclones at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

TCU was No. 3 in the College Football Playoff rankings last week. The Twitterverse pretty much blew up over their No. 6 final ranking.

So the TCU Horned Frogs were No. 3 in Tuesday night’s weekly release of the College Football Playoff rankings heading into the final week of the season.

The Horned Frogs (11-1) did what it could, hammering Iowa State (2-10) by a 55-3 score to close out their schedule.

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But after Ohio State obliterated Wisconsin 59-0 in the Big Ten championship game, the Buckeyes leapfrogged TCU into the No. 4 spot after Florida State moved up from No. 4 to No. 3 after beating Georgia Tech 37-35 in the ACC title game.

The Big 12, which refused to name a champion and instead declared Baylor and TCU co-champions, is now shut out of the initial College Football Playoff, the lone Power 5 conference excluded.

There are many questions about the logic behind dropping the Horned Frogs three spots after a 52-point win.

At least one Twitter user gave TCU permission to protest … vehemently:

A lot of the reaction could best be summed up as incredulous:

The Big 12 being the lone Power 5 conference to not hold a championship game may have ultimately been its undoing.

But with 10 teams, they do not meet NCAA guidelines for holding a big game at the end—the NCAA requires a conference to have at least 12 members in order to schedule the extra game.

Baylor also didn’t help itself with a non-conference schedule that was paper-thin. SMU and Buffalo were a combined 6-17 this season and the Bears’ other non-conference win was over FCS opponent Northwestern State.

TCU’s case, meanwhile, was hurt by having to play Iowa State at the end—the classic no-win scenario. Blow out the 2-9 Cyclones and you were supposed to. The Horned Frogs derived no benefit from it.

And the come-from-ahead loss at Baylor on Oct. 11—when TCU led 58-37 with 11:38 to play only to have Baylor storm back with 24 unanswered points to close—was likely the final nail in the playoff coffin.

Ohio State moved from No. 5 to No. 4 and will play No. 1 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. No. 3 Florida State takes on No. 2 Oregon in the Rose Bowl, with the winners to meet in the championship game on Jan. 12 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

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