Cupcakes, yum! CFP rankings reveal flaw in 4-team playoff. Bring on 12 teams | Toppmeyer
The first College Football Playoff rankings reiterated a fundamental flaw in the four-team format. Teams are not incentivized to play a tough schedule.
True, the selection committee rewarded Ohio State with the No. 1 ranking for its wins against Notre Dame and Penn State. After that, though, the subjective eye test took over, along with a submission to team records.
Consider: No two-loss Power Five team ranked ahead of any one-loss Power Five team, despite multiple two-loss teams having played a tougher schedule.
Also consider: The committee’s relegation of undefeated Florida State to the No. 4 spot. Though Georgia (No. 2 CFP) opened the season against Tennessee-Martin, and Michigan (No. 3 CFP) tortured East Carolina, the Seminoles beat LSU by 21 points at a neutral site.
Their prize? A cold shoulder from the selection committee.
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No wonder the SEC never increased from eight conference games. Qualifying for the four-team playoff always has been more about avoiding losses than logging marquee victories.
I don’t fault the committee's ranking. If I were ranking teams, I’d position Georgia and Michigan in my top three, too. The eye test is a siren’s call. I can't ignore dominance, particularly Michigan’s, regardless of competition level.
October’s controversies usually are settled on the field before December’s playoff selection day. The playoff field rarely is the problem. Rather, the issue is that the format does not encourage competitive scheduling. If LSU had opened the season against, say, Virginia instead of FSU, the Tigers would be ranked a few notches higher than No. 14. They wouldn’t be a better team, but they likely would have one fewer loss. If Alabama had played Houston in Week 2 instead of Texas, the Crimson Tide would be a top-five team instead of ranked No. 8.
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Hopefully, the 12-team playoff will rectify this. Six at-large bids will be awarded. How will the committee approach a 10-2 team with a weak schedule compared to a 9-3 team that played a stiff schedule? If the committee awards at-large bids simply based on record, teams will continue to be incentivized to play cupcakes rather than pursue signature victories.
A committee that holds teams accountable for their regular-season schedule will encourage a more compelling regular season, which will produce a field of 12 worthy playoff qualifiers.
Missouri football gets respect before facing Georgia
Missouri feasts on disrespect like a vulture dines on a roadside carcass, and usually there’s ample supply of naysaying about this Midwestern interloper cast into a Southern conference.
Suddenly, though, the lifeblood of disrespect dried up ahead of the Tigers’ game Saturday against Georgia (8-0, 5-0 SEC) in Athens.
Kirby Smart talks as if Missouri’s offense is comparable to that of 2020 Alabama, saying the Tigers (7-1, 3-1) are “terrorizing” opponents.
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Upsetting Georgia would make Missouri America’s team. Georgia fans covet a three-peat. Elsewhere, fans could go for some novelty.
Missouri’s star running back, Cody Schrader, is the front man for this underdog story. He joined the Tigers as a walk-on transfer from Division II Truman State before earning a scholarship. Truman’s notable alumni include WWE’s Kane (aka Glenn Jacobs), Jenna Fischer of “The Office” and Blake Toppmeyer, columnist for the USA TODAY Network. And now Schrader, the SEC’s No. 2 rusher.
Missouri quarterback Brady Cook joins Schrader in this tale of a plucky welterweight entering the heavyweight ring. At warp speed, Cook went from being criticized by Missouri fans to the toast of CoMo.
The playoff committee ranked the Tigers No. 12, their highest CFP ranking ever.
“Job’s not done yet," Missouri coach Eliah Drinkwitz said.
He just needs to unearth some disrespect, also known as Tiger fuel.
What to do with Alabama-LSU rivalry?
Nick Saban and Brian Kelly took different courses of rhetoric when answering a question of whether they’d like to see the Alabama-LSU rivalry continue annually after the SEC eliminates divisions next year.
Saban served word salad and avoided a true answer. Kelly stated unequivocally: “LSU-Alabama is a game that we would like to see played every year.”
This matches offseason messaging. LSU openly supported expansion to a nine-game SEC schedule including Alabama as an annual rival. In contrast, Saban bemoaned a potential docket that would feature Auburn, LSU and Tennessee as annual rivals.
The SEC’s schedule is not set past 2024, when Alabama will play at LSU.
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Saban’s job is to win, so I understand why he might rather play Mississippi State annually instead of LSU. However, considering how Alabama-LSU performs for TV ratings, this might be one area beyond Saban’s control.
Emails of the week
Lisa writes: Troll. Your article about Tennessee losing to Kentucky being a bell weather for a head coaching change is nothing but clickbait. Your stretch conclusions and extremely uninformed attempt at drawing correlations between losing to Kentucky and coaching changes are preposterous and border on GOP tactics behaviors. You, sir, are an embarrassment to your profession.
My response: If I had a dollar for every time a reader labeled me an embarrassment to my profession . . . well, I’d have a fistful of dollars.
Steve writes: Could Lane Kiffin end up in Gainesville? Surely that’s a match made in Hades.
My response: Either UF or Miami would seem like a good fit for Kiffin. Either would be a better match than Auburn would have been. Kiffin was smart to stay at Ole Miss last November.
Three and out
1. I’m considering giving Tyler from Spartanburg the passcode for the weekly SEC teleconference. Tyler’s questioning of Clemson’s 4-4 record caused Dabo Swinney to throw a five-minute tantrum during Swinney’s call-in radio show. I can only imagine how South Carolina’s Shane Beamer might react to a Tyler question. Tyler became the most interesting character in an otherwise bleak season in the Palmetto State.
2. I don’t subscribe to the conspiracy theory that SEC brass wear Bama underpants, but conference officials do revel in the greatness. The SEC's best avenue to qualifying at least one, and maybe two, teams for the playoff involves Alabama beating LSU. So grab your tinfoil hats come kickoff Saturday in Tuscaloosa.
3. Deion Sanders wants the NCAA to compensate his players for their property that was stolen from the locker room Saturday at Southern Cal. I’d like the NCAA to pay my personal property insurance.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's SEC Columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.
The "Topp Rope" is his twice-weekly SEC football column published throughout the USA TODAY Network. If you enjoy Blake’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it. Also, check out his podcast, SEC Football Unfiltered, or access exclusive columns via the SEC Unfiltered newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: CFP rankings reveal flaw in 4-team football playoff. Bring on 12 teams
