If you were caught up in election coverage last night, you might have missed the reveal of the College Football Playoff Committees’ second set of rankings. Last week, the committee made a surprising move, slotting one-loss Texas A&M at #4, one spot ahead of undefeated Washington. That didn’t work out so well, with A&M losing this past weekend to a Mississippi State team with a losing record. However, as William Edward Hickson said, “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again.” Below is the committees’ top 10 for this week, matched up against my top 10.
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Committee: Alabama (9-0) Omar: Alabama (9-0)
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Committee: Clemson (9-0) Omar: Michigan (9-0)
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Committee: Michigan (9-0) Omar: Clemson (9-0)
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Committee: Washington (9-0) Omar: Washington (9-0)
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Committee: Ohio State (8-1) Omar: Ohio State (8-1)
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Committee: Louisville (8-1) Omar: Louisville (8-1)
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Committee: Wisconsin (7-2) Omar: Wisconsin (7-2)
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Committee: Texas A&M (7-2) Omar: Auburn (7-2)
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Committee: Auburn (7-2) Omar: Oklahoma (7-2)
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Committee: Penn State (7-2) Omar: Penn State (7-2)
Hits:
Wisconsin Leading the Pack of 7-2 Teams
The old adage in college football is that once you’ve lost two games, you can kiss your title hopes goodbye. 2007 was the last time a two-loss team even played for the title. Enter Wisconsin. The Badgers only two losses have come to Michigan and Ohio State, losing both games by just seven points. Remove those two losses, and they’re not only 7-0, but hold three wins over top 10 teams (at the time of the game). If Wisconsin wins out, they’ll have a second shot at either Michigan or Wisconsin in the Big Ten title game. If they win that game, we could very well see an 11-2 Wisconsin squad in the College Football Playoff.
Committee Refuses to Flip-Flop Ohio State & Louisville
It can be painful for a college football fan to hear the words, “things will work themselves out”. However, it can also be painful to watch two teams flip-flop back and forth in the rankings each week. The top six in the current rankings means little to Ohio State and Michigan. The debate for the final playoff spot could come down to 11-1 Michigan and 11-1 Louisville. For the time being, Louisville fans should be rooting for multiple slip-ups by the five teams positioned in front of them.
Misses:
Texas A&M is Still Here?!
There seems to be a love affair brewing between the committee and Texas A&M. First, the committee made the surprising decision to rank the Aggies fourth in the nation last week, citing an impressive strength of schedule as their main reason. Then, on Saturday, Texas A&M failed to back up their #4 ranking, losing to a 4-5 Mississippi State team after being outplayed for most of the game. The Aggies also received word that their star quarterback Trevor Knight would miss the rest of the season with a shoulder injury. However, instead of the dive in the rankings that many experts expected the Aggies to take, the committee chose to drop them only four spots, slotting them at #8.
No Love for the Sooners
The Big 12 is in the midst of a down year, and is unlikely to get a team into the playoff. That being said, Oklahoma deserves more love than they’re getting from the committee. The Sooners are another two-loss team whose losses have both come against ranked teams. They’re still the best team in the Big 12, led by the best QB in the Big 12, Baker Mayfield. The Sooners finish the season with three tough tests, including Baylor, West Virginia, and Oklahoma State. If they win out, it’ll be interesting to see how high they rise in the final rankings.
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