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College Football Playoff: Winners and losers in new rankings

By John Buhler

College Football Playoff. (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images)
College Football Playoff. (Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/Getty Images) /
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The second College Football Playoff rankings have been revealed, and we must react.

The College Football Playoff Selection Committee has spoken for the second time this year.

Last week was significant for the playoff picture. What the Selection Committee decided revamped the way we look at the top 25. It overvalued teams like the Georgia Bulldogs and the Iowa Hawkeyes, while underrating teams like the BYU Cougars and the Oregon Ducks. Looks like it was right in knocking Oregon down a peg when it did. Here are this week’s winners and losers.

College Football Playoff rankings

  1. Alabama Crimson Tide
  2. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
  3. Clemson Tigers
  4. Ohio State Buckeyes
  5. Texas A&M Aggies
  6. Florida Gators
  7. Cincinnati Bearcats
  8. Georgia Bulldogs
  9. Iowa State Cyclones
  10. Miami Hurricanes
  11. Oklahoma Sooners
  12. Indiana Hoosiers
  13. BYU Cougars
  14. Northwestern Wildcats
  15. Oklahoma State Cowboys
  16. Wisconsin Badgers
  17. North Carolina Tar Heels
  18. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
  19. Iowa Hawkeyes
  20. USC Trojans
  21. Marshall Thundering Herd
  22. Washington Huskies
  23. Oregon Ducks
  24. Tulsa Golden Hurricane
  25. Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns

Winner: Alabama Crimson Tide

The Selection Committee feels strongly that the Alabama Crimson Tide are the best team in the country for another week. This team is hitting its stride at the right time. By earning the No. 1 spot for the first two revealings of the playoff, the Crimson Tide are in a position to get in no matter what happens in the SEC Championship game, so long as they get to Atlanta undefeated.

Loser: Cincinnati Bearcats

For the second straight week, the Cincinnati Bearcats find themselves at No. 7. Having their game this past weekend canceled did not help their cause to get into the top six. While they do have a date, or two, with the No. 24 Tulsa Golden Hurricane left, it feels like the Bearcats will do no better than a New Year’s Six bowl as a Group of 5 champion. They will settle for the Peach Bowl.

Winner: Notre Dame Fighting Irish

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish had a terrific week. They defeated the North Carolina Tar Heels to get another signature win on the season. The ACC eliminated the last game of their season, so the Irish are going to the ACC Championship game already. As long as they beat the Syracuse Orange at home on Saturday to stay perfect, the Golden Domers will get into the playoff no matter what.

Loser: Miami Hurricanes

The Miami Hurricanes may be a top-10 team, but the gap between them and the No. 3 Clemson Tigers feels like the Grand Canyon. Is this a New Year’s Six team? Absolutely, but they will end up playing someone like the Georgia Bulldogs in the Orange Bowl. With only one loss on the year, the ‘Canes have to settle for not even being able to play in their conference title bout, unfortunately.

Winner: Ohio State Buckeyes

Despite only playing four games this season, the Selection Committee still thinks very highly of the Ohio State Buckeyes. Though they cannot afford to have a third game canceled, it seems that a 7-0 Big Ten Champion Buckeyes team will be good enough to get into the College Football playoff as either the No. 3 or No. 4 team in the field. They are lucky to not be No. 5 this week.

Loser: Pac-12

It stinks, but the Pac-12 is more out of it than the Big 12. With the Oregon Ducks losing and the USC Trojans having to cancel another game, only three teams in the Power 5 conference are in the top 25 and none are better than No. 20. Though the Washington Huskies made the top 25 for the first time at No. 22, none of that really matters any more. Just another bad year for the Pac-12.

Winner: Iowa State Cyclones

Shockingly, the biggest winner of them all this week was the Iowa State Cyclones. Matt Campbell’s team climbed up four spots from No. 13 all the way to No. 9. The head-to-head tiebreaker over the No. 11 Oklahoma Sooners finally mattered. Whoever wins between those two teams in Arlington in the Big 12 Championship game will be playing in the Cotton Bowl Classic in January.

So what are the biggest takeaways from the latest College Football Playoff rankings? By having Ohio State in the top-four, it means the Selection Committee wants to have three Power 5 conferences make the four-team field by any means necessary. Ohio State is good, but is getting a major benefit of the doubt here. We will see how good Ryan Day’s team is in due time.

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

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