NCAAF College Football Playoff Rankings Released
The initial College Football Playoff rankings were released on Tuesday night after nine weeks of play. We’re roughly two-thirds of the way through the regular season, so how do things shape up so far?
Here is how the CFP committee ranked the top 25 teams in their initial rankings that were released Tuesday night.
25-21:
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The first wave of ranked teams in the initial CFP rankings:
25. Pitt
24. San Diego State
23. Fresno State
22. Iowa
21. Wisconsin
Realize that no other members of the American (Houston, SMU) are ranked. Good luck to Cincinnati trying to find that next “big win”.
20-16:
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20. Minnesota
19. NC State
18. Kentucky
17. Mississippi State
16. Ole Miss
Notice how they’re all Power Five teams. Minnesota has played one ranked team and lost by two touchdowns on their home field and lost to Bowling Green yet still gets a top-20 ranking. The Big Ten love is a bit much.
15-11:
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15. BYU
14. Texas A&M
13. Auburn
12. Baylor
11. Oklahoma State
A ton was made of where Oklahoma was ranked in the initial rankings. You’ll see exactly where that is shortly but as low as it is, games and potential wins against the 11th and 12th ranked teams on this list would certainly up their resume quickly.
10-7:
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10. Notre Dame
9. Wake Forest
8. Oklahoma
7. Michigan
I was shocked to see Oklahoma ranked eighth despite being 9-0. No, they haven’t always won pretty, but they’ve simply won. Michigan remaining seventh after blowing a game at Michigan State, against the only ranked team they’ve played, is laughable.
Like I said above. Oklahoma’s ranking is low but has plenty of chances to impress against top-15 teams in the next month.
5 and 6: First two out
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6. Cincinnati
5. Ohio State
Cincinnati sits at 8-0 with a win at Notre Dame on their resume but struggles against Navy and Tulane have them ranked sixth nationally. Unlike Oklahoma behind them and Ohio State ahead of them, chances to earn a big win aren’t really there as the committee didn’t rank Houston or SMU, both of which the Bearcats will likely have to play to go 13-0. For Ohio State they control their own destiny it would certainly seem as Michigan State is still on their schedule to come as well as Michigan and potentially the Big Ten West champion.
Top 4:
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4. Oregon
3. Michigan State
2. Alabama
1. Georgia
I was stunned to see Oregon check in at four but pleased. Head-to-head should matter and they have a win at the Horseshoe over Ohio State.
I’d be lying if I said I was pleased with Alabama being second as I don’t feel they’ve earned that, but the fact of the matter is if they win out they’ll be in. I’m only going to allow myself to get mad if they end the year with two losses and still make the CFP.
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