4. How will we know if the College Football Playoff committee is on its game?
The whole point of the way the College Football Playoff committee does its rankings is to be so meticulous and so well thought out that they’re above reproach as much as they can possibly be.
Each position from 25 up to 1 is argued over, debated, and then agreed to so at the very least, you know that each aspect of the rankings is up for discussion and well thought out.
That doesn’t mean the committee can’t whiff.
Here are the two things that you should be looking for to know whether or not this year’s committee is on its game.
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1) Is Louisiana ranked ahead of Iowa State?
This has driving me up a wall all year in the AP and Coaches polls. Louisiana beat Iowa State 31-14 in Ames, and its only loss is to an unbeaten Coastal Carolina. If the committee has this right, it has Coastal Carolina, then Louisiana, then Iowa State, and then Oklahoma, because the Sooners lost to Iowa State.
Now, Oklahoma being ranked higher is sort of okay – mostly because the committee can decide that it likes the way the team has improved in a Best Team At The Moment ranking sort of way – but if the Ragin’ Cajuns are behind the Cyclones, you will be in the right to fire out a mean tweet.
2) Texas A&M and Florida
I fully expect the the committee to shank the Louisiana/Iowa State thing, but this is the equivalent of making the CFP putt out from 14 inches away.
There’s no reason whatsoever to have Florida ranked higher than Texas A&M, since A&M’s only loss is Alabama and it beat the Gators.
Here’s why this one matters.
You can argue that Iowa State has improved, it plays a Power Five schedule, and so on, and at the end of the day, you’re probably right to put it ahead of Louisiana, even though it would be grossly unfair.
However, if Florida is ranked higher than Texas A&M, then it means the committee hasn’t really watched the Aggies, and it means the results on the field don’t matter and the fatally-flawed “eye test” does.
– What will the top 4 be?
– How the heck do you rank the Pac-12 teams?
– How much will the committee tease Cincinnati and BYU?
– Miami vs. Northwestern vs. Texas A&M