Projecting what the top ten of the CFP rankings would be if released after Week 1
I know, I know, it’s way too early to be thinking about what kind of zany methods the College Football Playoff committee will use this year to determine where teams fall in the CFP rankings, but I like a challenge, so I’m going for it.
Now that we’ve at least seen every team in the FBS play some real, live American rules college football, we have some observations we can make to make at least a little bit of an educated guess on where the minds of the CFP committee would go.
And I want to be clear — this is not my rankings, or what I would do, but rather what the collection of people in a room that have unintentional (we hope) biased opinions (whether they believe it or not). All we have to do is look at past history to get a feel of how things would go.
It’s not meant to be perfect because the principles outlined prior to this playoff experiment happening have been implemented inconsistently at best to support the argument of a very imperfect rankings process. We’ll get to see the tap dancing and spin of it all a little later in the year.
Now that I am off of my soapbox, off I go with what I believe the top ten of the College Football Playoff Rankings might have looked like after Week 1 of the 2022 CFB season.
Please aim your darts, arrows, and insults at me on Twitter or Facebook.
Baylor Bears
Why the Ranking
There’s really not a lot to separate teams at this point, so we’ll begrudgingly slot a Baylor team that has a lot of hype surrounding it coming into the season. The Bears won by 59 points over Albany and offense + media hype seems to get to work on the CFP committee.
Penn State Nittany Lions
Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Sean Clifford (14) hands the ball off to Penn State Nittany Lions running back Keyvone Lee (24) during the NCAA football game against the Purdue Boilermakers, Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022, at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Ind. Credit: USA TODAY Sports
Why the Ranking
When you look around, Penn State’s win over a Power Five team on the road is better than most out there. It wasn’t a great defensive effort for the Nittany Lions, but it was a gut check, come from behind win in a hostile environment.
Texas A&M
Sep 3, 2022; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies wide receiver Ainias Smith (0) runs the ball in for a touchdown during the third quarter against the Sam Houston State Bearkats at Kyle Field. Credit: Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports
Why the Ranking
Texas A&M is the overrated team of the SEC almost yearly, but that doesn’t seem to matter. Queue up the top ten ranking because that’s what the committee has shown before. Who knows, maybe Jimbo Fisher will get this team to play to its potential this year.
Oklahoma Sooners
OU defensive lineman Reggie Grimes (14) celebrates during the Sooners’ 45-13 win against UTEP on Saturday in Norman. Credit: USA TODAY Sports Network
Why the Ranking
Oklahoma is a name brand that’s been to the College Football Playoff before. The Sooners looked pretty good on offense in a win over UTEP and that would all play well with the committee — for now.
Clemson Tigers
Clemson running back Will Shipley (1), left, and linebacker Barrett Carter (0) play rock-paper-scissors near Head Coach Dabo Swinney to help determine whether the offense of defense has to go to the opposite team’s practice field area, during practice at the Poe Indoor Facility in Clemson Monday, August 8, 2022. Credit: USA TODAY Sports
Why the Ranking
Clemson didn’t exactly dismantle Georgia Tech last weekend, but the committee has a love affair with the Tigers and they did enough to raise a few eyebrows in the room. There is still a lot to prove, but Clemson would get the benefit of the doubt.
Florida Gators
Sep 3, 2022; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Florida Gators tight end Keon Zipperer (9) and linebacker Ventrell Miller (51) hug after defeating the Utah Utes at Steve Spurrier-Florida Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Why the Ranking
If the committee puts stock in beating a highly ranked opponent, then Florida has to be in the top ten. We still don’t know how good Utah is, but the Utes were a top ten team conceptually and the Gators won at home.
Michigan Wolverines
Why the Ranking
Michigan blew the doors off of a pretty hapless Colorado State team. The Wolverines would live off of what they did last year and still be ranked around here.
Ohio State Buckeyes
Sept. 3, 2022; Columbus; Ohio State Buckeyes running back TreVeyon Henderson (32) rushes toward Notre Dame Fighting Irish wide receiver Avery Davis (3) during the second quarter of the NCAA football game at Ohio Stadium. Adam Cairns-USA TODAY Sports
Why the Ranking
The Ohio State offense didn’t do as expected, but the defense still shined in a top-five victory over Notre Dame. It was the best win over the first two weeks of the season, but offense is sexier, right committee?
Alabama Crimson Tide
Jan 10, 2022; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Bryce Young (9) throws a pass during the second half against the Georgia Bulldogs in the 2022 CFP college football national championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Why the Ranking
I mean it’s Alabama, the king of the SEC. The Tide didn’t play anyone with a pulse, but still destroyed the opponent and that’s more than good enough in the committee’s eyes.
Georgia Bulldogs
Why the Ranking
Georgia had the combination of the most impressive and best win of the week. The Bulldogs are defending national champions and from the SEC. I feel pretty good about all of those things adding up to Georgia being No. 1.
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