The College Football Playoff committee released its first Top 25 poll of the season. Of course, this gives us our first peek at potential playoff matchups. There will be plenty who plot the teams into a playoff grid. And by next Tuesday, they will be trash. We have four weeks of the regular season left. Keep your brackets clear. But what the committee press session did do was reveal some of the thinking behind the selections. And it gave us just as many more questions as it gave answers.
College Football Playoff Committee Thought Process
Ohio State, Indiana, Texas A&M, and Alabama were the top four schools for the committee. And the sun came up today. The two events were equally predictable.
One of the things that was not predictable was the frankness with which committee chair Mack Rhoads laid out the case both for and against some schools. Historically, on the media call each week, we get a lot of niceties and tap dancing. Tuesday night’s call offered a little more candor.
Committee Doesn’t Think Much of the ACC
Committee chair Mack Rhoads was asked about the potential for Miami in the coming weeks. At 6-2, the Hurricanes are ranked 18th in the first playoff poll. They essentially have to go to the ACC championship game to have a shot at the playoffs. But Rhoads’ assessment of the Canes was different than what we usually get from the committee. “I think if they can maybe correct some of the woes that they’ve had just in terms of turnovers, and certainly on the offensive side of the ball, they can certainly have an opportunity to win games,” Rhoads said. “I think for Miami, I’m just going to say it: For Miami, it’s about consistency and their lack of consistency. We just need to see more consistency out of Miami headed down the stretch.”
There was the to-be-expected conversation about the strength of schedule and how that impacts the committee’s view of certain teams, or in this case, how it apparently worked against the ACC. “Georgia Tech, again, quality team. I think Haynes King is everything to that team. To this point in time, and I think you can say this about the ACC, not at least at this point, not a lot of non-conference signature wins,” Rhoads said.
At 8-1 overall and undefeated in conference play, Virginia is the top seed in the ACC, yet they are ranked 14th. If they win the conference championship, they would of course be guaranteed a playoff spot, likely right now as the #11 seed. Beating teams they have beaten is not getting them the credibility they would want, because they are ACC wins. “Certainly, we looked at schedule strength when we considered Virginia. We looked at three overtime games, the Florida State win. I think that’s hard, quite frankly, for the ACC. Florida State has lost its luster a little bit as time has progressed, as games have accumulated. A really close game, obviously, at North Carolina, and then a close game again on the road at California,” Rhoads told the media.
Schedule Be Damned
This came during the same conversation where Rhoads said philosophies on out-of-conference scheduling are not taken into consideration. The question was quietly pointed at Indiana, which has bought its way out of tougher OOC games in favor of more guaranteed wins. Rhoads replied, “Yeah, the schedule is the schedule. We don’t talk about scheduling philosophy and how any team scheduled. We just looked at hey, this is who they have on the schedule. This is the outcome of those games. Then, looking at all of the metrics at our disposal.”
Calling Out Names
Another thing that was significantly different this year was the focus on the impact of individual players. A few players have been mentioned here and there over the years. Particularly if someone is injured and the potential impact on the ranking of a team.
But Tuesday’s call got shoutouts from Rhoads for Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed, Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson, Texas Tech quarterback Behren Morton, and the Notre Dame running back tandem. “Jadarian Price, Jeremiyah Love, probably the best backfield in the country when you think about one-two punch,” Rhoads said. And then there was this about Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton, “I think Gunner Stockton at quarterback has really progressed. It certainly feels like they have more confidence in him, doing a lot more with him.” With so much emphasis on certain individuals, it is fair to wonder if a few bad individual nights here or there will impact the impression being made on committee members, regardless of a win.
G5 Troubles
The most notable omission was any school from any of the G5 conferences. None of them made the Top 25. But the highest-rated G5 school is guaranteed a playoff spot. If at the end of this month-long process, there is still no G5 conference leader that has carved its way into the hearts and minds of the committee members, the mandate is for them to select who they perceive is the best of the bunch and put them into the 12-team field.
Main Image: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
