A lot goes into factoring in the 12 teams that get to participate in the College Football Playoff. The committee must consider team records and talent level, obviously, but perhaps the most important factor is the strength of resume. A 10-2 team in the Mountain West just isn't the same as a 10-2 team in the SEC when taking into account the teams schools from those conferences have to play against.
With that in mind, let's take a look at Tuesday's updated college football rankings as the conference title games loom.
College Football Playoff Rankings: Ole Miss survives Lane Kiffin's departure
Ranking | Team |
|---|---|
1 | Ohio State Buckeyes |
2 | Indiana Hoosiers |
3 | Georgia Bulldogs |
4 | Texas Tech Red Raiders |
5 | Oregon Ducks |
6 | Ole Miss Rebels |
7 | Texas A&M Aggies |
8 | Oklahoma Sooners |
9 | Alabama Crimson Tide |
10 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish |
11 | BYU Cougars |
12 | Miami Hurricanes |
13 | Texas Longhorns |
14 | Vanderbilt Commodores |
15 | Utah Utes |
16 | USC Trojans |
17 | Virginia Cavaliers |
18 | Arizona Wildcats |
19 | Michigan Wolverines |
20 | Tulane Green Wave |
21 | Houston Cougars |
22 | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets |
23 | Iowa Hawkeyes |
24 | North Texas Mean Green |
25 | James Madison Dukes |
The Ohio State Buckeyes and Indiana Hoosiers sitting at the top of the pack was the expectation, but from then on, chaos ensued. Texas A&M predictably dropped out of the top four and all but lost their chance of earning a first-round bye thanks to their loss against Texas. Georgia took the Aggies' place, and Texas Tech is now in the top four.
The biggest storyline fans were watching was what would happen with the Ole Miss Rebels after Lane Kiffin decided to depart for LSU. There was concern that the Rebels would be punished for Kiffin's decision, yet not only were the Rebels not dinged at all, they actually moved up a spot to No. 6 in the rankings. It makes sense to keep Ole Miss in the playoff picture, but moving them up after Kiffin's departure is a shocking outcome.
CFP rankings by strength of resume
Team | Strength of Resume Rank |
|---|---|
Indiana Hoosiers | 1st |
Ohio State Buckeyes | 2nd |
Texas A&M Aggies | 3rd |
Oregon Ducks | 4th |
Georgia Bulldogs | 5th |
BYU Cougars | 6th |
Ole Miss Rebels | 7th |
Alabama Crimson Tide | 8th |
Oklahoma Sooners | 9th |
Texas Tech Red Raiders | 10th |
Vanderbilt Commodores | 11th |
Texas Longhorns | 12th |
If the rankings were based entirely on strength of resume, both the Vanderbilt Commodores and the Texas Longhorns would be playoff teams right now. Yes, a Longhorns team with three losses and a Commodores team that lost to that three-loss Texas team, would be in the top 12. The reason for that is quite simple - they're in the SEC.
SEC teams have the hardest conference schedule in the country. This means that you can lose a game or two and still get into the playoff by playing in that conference, but it also means that you have your work cut out for yourself to actually finish a year with only one or two losses. Doing so is incredibly difficult.
Five SEC teams are in the college football playoff, and all five of those teams rank ahead of Vanderbilt and Texas in the strength of resume rankings. Knowing that you can't realistically have seven teams from one conference in the playoff, omitting Vanderbilt and Texas might not be ideal due to the strength of resume, but it's hard to argue too much with the logic.
Thus, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Miami Hurricanes, the teams with the 13th and 14th strength of resumes respectively, jump the two SEC schools and (for now) into the college football playoff.
Did the committee get it right?
For the most part, the committee got it right. The one major gripe I have in the rankings is with the Texas teams; Texas A&M, Texas and Texas Tech. Sure, Texas A&M's loss to Texas was a brutal one, and they did deserve to get punished as a result, but when looking at the strength of resume, theirs is much more impressive in the grand scheme of things than Texas Tech's. Had A&M's loss come in, say, Week 5, would they be ranked where they are right now, knowing how impressive they've been the rest of the year?
For reference, Texas A&M has played the 15th toughest strength of schedule this season. Texas Tech has the 59th toughest strength of schedule. Texas A&M is 11-1 and 7-1 in SEC play. Texas Tech is also 11-1 and is 8-1 in conference play, but they're in the Big 12. Isn't A&M's overall season more impressive?
Plus, since Texas was able to beat A&M and has played the toughest schedule (8th) regarding teams in the college football playoff hunt, shouldn't they be rewarded more for their big win? Sure, they do have three losses, but a 9-3 record with their schedule is arguably more impressive than some 10-2 teams, especially since one of those losses came in a non-conference game against the No. 1 team in the rankings.
All we ask for is consistency, and in this case, it felt like there wasn't enough of it.