The College Football Playoff Ranking
Question: This is a big-picture question. With the official CFP rankings coming out next week, a hot topic is Ohio State vs. Oregon. Both have the same record, and a path forwards to making it into the top-4, though Oregon has a head-to-head win. Who do you think should be ranked higher at this point in time?
Neel: I don’t have a big problem with Ohio State being ranked ahead of Oregon at this point in time, simply because they look like the far superior team when it comes to the eye test. However, I am curious to see how the committee views the Ducks’ loss to Stanford. Close game, poor officiating, and doing it all without OC Joe Moorhead? Nine times out of 10, Oregon is undefeated at this point in time, and we aren’t having this conversation. I wonder if the committee agrees. If Oregon can continue to win, I think they have to surpass tOSU at the end of the year due to the head-to-head win. If they don’t, we have some real problems in the selection process to talk about…
Smalley: Since the Oregon game, the Buckeyes have blown out four of their next five opponents with only Tulsa coming relatively close before losing 41-20. Those other opponents are Akron, Rutgers, Maryland, and Indiana … not exactly the powers of the Big Ten. But they did blow those teams out. Meanwhile, the Ducks have had close games against bad teams and lost to Stanford. For now, Ohio State will be and should be ranked higher. For now. Ohio State’s schedule gets a lot tougher, beginning this Saturday against Penn State. By the time the season ends, Oregon will most likely pass the Buckeyes in the rankings as long as the Ducks win out.
Patton: Oregon hasn’t done anything since that win to really earn a spot among the country’s top-10 teams, with last week’s win against UCLA their only other quality victory. Ohio State hasn’t done a ton either, by virtue of playing some bad Big Ten opponents, but for now, they should be on top. That could change easily though, especially if Oregon takes care of business for the rest of the year.