When the initial College Football Playoff Rankings debuted a few weeks ago ahead of LSU’s contest against Alabama, the biggest surprise was the Tigers’ placement at No. 10 — significantly higher than either the AP Top 25 or USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
At that time, one of the biggest critics of that decision was Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt, who bemoaned the committee’s decision to put LSU ahead of several teams he deemed more deserving.
The Tigers proved they belonged in the top 10 with an upset win over Alabama, which led to an SEC West title and a shot at the College Football Playoff if they win out.
Those odds look pretty high after LSU stayed at No. 5, one spot ahead of USC despite the Trojans’ road win against UCLA. Once again, Klatt wasn’t pleased with the committee’s decision.
“This committee is clearly not looking at what happened in the last couple of weeks and evaluating as such,” Klatt said. “Remember, LSU did beat Alabama — and, great, good for them. That was a great game. They beat them on that two-point conversion. Then, they followed that up with a three-point win against Arkansas, the week after Arkansas lost to Liberty. Then, LSU plays UAB.
“So, I’m sorry, what? Why are we honoring them? Why are they staying there? It’s clearly because the committee wants to honor their previous rankings or their previous notions about who these teams are rather than what we see actually on the field.”
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“In those same two weeks, by the way, USC pounded Colorado — and, I get it. Colorado’s not a great team right now. But then they follow that up with a win against UCLA on the road,” Klatt said. “That UCLA team, by the way, beat two teams in the committee’s own top 25, Washington and Utah. USC’s also got the best player right now that I’ve seen in college football in Caleb Williams, who in his last five games has taken college football by storm.
“So when things like this happen, it’s pretty clear that college football fans are going to distrust the system. That’s not good for anybody, and when we’re rewarding teams and letting teams slide on things like three-point wins against Arkansas and playing UAB in November, I think it’s a bad message to send. In some respects, the committee is not even doing their job. Please evaluate these teams on a weekly basis and give us some adjustment based on what’s happening on the field.”
While there may be legitimate debate about the No. 5 spot, the situation will likely sort itself out considering LSU must take down Georgia to remain in the mix, while USC closes the year against Notre Dame and likely Oregon in the Pac-12 Championship.
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