College Football Playoff: Winners and losers from first rankings

The first College Football Playoff rankings have been revealed, and we have some thoughts.

The College Football Playoff Selection Committee shared the first rankings for 2020. These rankings are not the most important, as those will come later. However, these might be the second-most important rankings because they set the tone for how the College Football Playoff Selection Committee sees all the Division I teams. Obviously, some teams got the benefit of the doubt, while others got hosed substantially. Let’s look at the winners and losers right now.

College Football Playoff rankings

1. Alabama
2. Notre Dame
3. Clemson
4. Ohio State
5. Texas A&M
6. Florida
7. Cincinnati
8. Northwestern
9. Georgia
10. Miami
11. Oklahoma
12. Indiana
13. Iowa State
14. BYU
15. Oregon
16. Wisconsin
17. Texas
18. USC
19. North Carolina
20. Coastal Carolina
21. Marshall
22. Auburn
23. Oklahoma State
24. Iowa
25. Tulsa

Winner: Alabama Crimson Tide

The Alabama Crimson Tide getting the No.1 overall seed makes all the sense in the world. They are the best team in the best conference and were rewarded for it. This comes as no surprise, but having Alabama in the top spot signifies it will take nothing short of an unmitigated disaster for the Crimson Tide to not make the four-team field for the sixth time in seven years.

Loser: BYU Cougars

What utter disrespect? Apparently, the College Football Playoff Selection Committee does not give a damn that the BYU Cougars were the only West Coast team to agree to play this season from the jump. What is apparent is the Selection Committee has no use for the Cougars’ nine wins. They should be a top-eight team and were given the No. 14 overall ranking. This is so embarrassing.

Winner: Notre Dame Fighting Irish

With the Notre Dame Fighting Irish coming in as the No. 2 team in the country, they should feel very confident about their chances of getting in, regardless of what happens in the ACC Championship. A perfect 12-0 season will get the Golden Domers a top-two seed, but should they slip up to their opponent, they have a shot to sneak in as a one-loss, at-large team at No. 4.

Loser: Oregon Ducks

For some strange reason, we thought the Selection Committee would respect the Pac-12 for once. Well, we were wrong. The Pac-12’s best team in the Oregon Ducks are undefeated and should have pushed for a top-10 spot, but here they are with the No. 15 overall ranking. The Ducks may be fast climbers in a few weeks, but it is increasingly difficult for the Pac-12 to get a team in.

Winner: Clemson Tigers

Despite having one loss, the Clemson Tigers find themselves as the No. 3 team in the country. As long as they win out, they will make the College Football Playoff as the ACC Champion for the sixth year in a row. For a team we all knew would be the No. 4 team in the country, this is a testament to the Selection Committee really believing the top of the ACC is among the best in the country.

Loser: Ohio State Buckeyes

Because the Ohio State Buckeyes are undefeated and the best team in the Big Ten, we were certain they would come in as the No. 3 seed after Alabama and Notre Dame, respectively. Though they would get in as the No. 4 seed if the season ended today, perhaps the Selection Committee does not think they are nearly as good as expected. They now have no margin for error in 2020.

Winner: Texas A&M Aggies

Despite the perceived greatness of the Florida Gators, the Texas A&M Aggies finish one spot ahead of them in the first playoff rankings. This is significant because they are not getting to the SEC Championship game because of the Alabama loss. By being the first team out at No. 5, Texas A&M is in a fantastic position to get in as a one-loss, at-large team at 9-1 this season. Gig ‘Em.

There were other teams who benefited from the rankings, such as the No. 8 Northwestern Wildcats and the No. 9 Georgia Bulldogs, as well as teams that were losers on Tuesday night, such as the No. 10 Miami Hurricanes. At least for now, we can readjust our thinking towards where the Selection Committee’s collective heads are at. This is some mind-blowing stuff we just saw.

What did the College Football Playoff Selection Committee get right and what did it get wrong.

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