College Football Playoff Rankings: 5 Random Day After Thoughts
The day after the first batch of College Football Playoff rankings were released, here are five random thoughts about what the CFP committee came up with.
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College Football Playoff Rankings: 5 Random Day After Thoughts
– CFP Rankings: Reaction to every slot
– College Football Playoff Rankings
5. Oklahoma is more than okay, even at 9
13-0 Big 12 Champion Oklahoma is absolutely in the 2021-2022 College Football Playoff.
There’s ZERO chance it’s out if it wins out. None. No way, no how, and in no reasonable or rational scenario would the College Football Playoff committee leave out an unbeaten Power Five conference champion – that includes Wake Forest, by the way, but that’s not happening.
Don’t get into any sort of a twist at OU being at 9 to start. It still has to play Baylor (12), Oklahoma State (11), and it probably has to deal with one of those two a second time in the Big 12 Championship – if all goes well.
By the way, it’s not a total lock like 13-0 would be, but 12-1 Big 12 Champion Oklahoma would almost certainly get in, too.
College Football Playoff Rankings Day After Thoughts
– The sneaky-interesting ranking was …
– Arkansas really is the the one big whiff
– Cincinnati at 6 is fine … really
– Oregon isn’t necessarily safe at 4
NEXT: The sneaky-interesting ranking was …
4. The sneaky-interesting ranking was …
Auburn at 13 – it was the highest-ranked two-loss team.
It’s not going to happen, but everything you’re all talking about right now when it comes to Alabama winning out, apply that to Auburn, too, even with the two losses.
No two-loss team has ever made it into the College Football Playoff, but 2017 Auburn would’ve been the first and only one to do it had it beaten Georgia in the SEC Championship. Had it done that – it walloped the Bulldogs 40-17 earlier in the year, but lost to Clemson and LSU – it would’ve been in with two wins over Georgia and a victory over Alabama. The CFP would’ve been Bama, Oklahoma, Clemson, and Auburn.
Of course the College Football Playoff rankings don’t work like the other poll systems, but there’s a path for this year’s team, even with the road loss to Penn State and the loss to Georgia.
Beat at Texas A&M, Mississippi State, at South Carolina, and Alabama, and it’s off to the SEC Championship for a rematch against – almost certainly – Georgia. If it wins that, I think it’s in no matter what – the resumé would be way too strong.
– Oklahoma is more than okay, even at 9
– Arkansas really is the the one big whiff
– Cincinnati at 6 is fine … really
– Oregon isn’t necessarily safe at 4
NEXT: Arkansas really is the the one big whiff
3. Arkansas really is the the one big whiff
Other than being in love with the defense, I’m not entirely sure what Wisconsin did to deserve the 21 – beating Iowa was okay, but whatever. The three losses – Penn State, Michigan, Notre Dame – were ugly, but relatively okay considering how good those three are.
Mississippi State was the only other three-loss team to get in, and it dropped games to unranked LSU and Memphis, to go along with the totally fine – even if it was a blowout – loss to Alabama.
Arkansas was on a three-game losing streak before beating Arkansas-Pine Bluff, but the win over Texas was good, the victory over No. 14 Texas A&M was great – especially considering that Alabama got a free pass for the loss to the Aggies with the No. 2 ranking – and the losses to Auburn (13), Ole Miss (16), and Georgia (1) were more acceptable than Wisconsin’s and Mississippi State’s defeats.
– Oklahoma is more than okay, even at 9
– The sneaky-interesting ranking was …
– Cincinnati at 6 is fine … really
– Oregon isn’t necessarily safe at 4
NEXT: Cincinnati at 6 is fine … really
2. Cincinnati at 6 is fine … really
My heavens the SCREAMING over Cincinnati being at six.
Apparently the College Football Playoff committee is “corrupt” and the system needs to be “blown up” and on and on and on.
Look, Cincinnati has one great win – on the road over Notre Dame – and that’s it. There’s NOTHING else.
– College Football Playoff Rankings: Reaction to every slot
There’s only one other win over a team with a winning record, and UCF in that game was a shadow of its former self without QB Dillon Gabriel.
The team was so mediocre in wins over lousy Navy (2-6) and Tulane (1-7) teams, that College Football Playoff committee chair Gary Barta actually came out and said that the performances weren’t good enough for a team with a horrific strength-of-schedule.
And even with ALL of that, the Cincinnati Bearcats were ranked ahead of unbeaten Oklahoma, and unbeaten Wake Forest, and a whole lot of teams with multiple good wins.
Six is giving this Bearcat team a ton of respect considering its resumé. Just ask Oklahoma fans.
– Oklahoma is more than okay, even at 9
– The sneaky-interesting ranking was …
– Arkansas really is the the one big whiff
– Oregon isn’t necessarily safe at 4
NEXT: Oregon isn’t necessarily safe at 4
1. Oregon isn’t necessarily safe at 4
The Mountain West trolled the Pac-12 for its lack of California teams ranked in the first CFP Top 25, and there’s an important point.
There weren’t any ranked Pac-12 teams other than Oregon.
Utah will probably be ranked at some point, but the Ducks don’t play anyone all that great the rest of the way – at Washington, Washington State, at Utah, Oregon State, and then whatever comes out of the Pac-12 South if they get to the Pac-12 Championship.
Ohio State? At Nebraska, Purdue, Michigan State, at Michigan, and then either Wisconsin (21) or Minnesota (20), or Iowa (22) in the Big Ten Championship, if everything works out.
The committee HAD to put Oregon ahead of Ohio State in these first rankings – it would’ve looked silly if it didn’t. However, that’s not set in stone the whole way.
If Oregon wins out, and if Ohio State wins out, and it comes down to one of those two to get in … don’t be so sure that this holds.
I think it should – respect the results, and the road win over Ohio State is the best victory by anyone this year, right next to Texas A&M winning at home over Alabama – but if the Buckeyes go on a tear and rip through everyone the rest of the way, and if Oregon limps along and keeps on struggling, keep in mind that this is about the “four best teams.”
The College Football Playoff committee might like the way Ohio State has progressed.
There’s another possible nightmare scenario for Oregon.
– Oklahoma is more than okay, even at 9
– The sneaky-interesting ranking was …
– Arkansas really is the the one big whiff
– Cincinnati at 6 is fine … really
– CFP Rankings: Reaction to every slot
– College Football Playoff Rankings
It wins out and is the 12-1 Pac-12 champion. Alabama and Georgia go 12-1, Oklahoma goes 13-0, and Michigan State beat Ohio State and goes on to win the Big Ten championship – finishing 13-0 or 12-1 – and …
Basically, Oregon, it’s style points time. Through these first rankings, the College Football Playoff committee just told you your Pac-12 schedule isn’t good enough. Winning impressively from here on matters.
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