Three Biggest Takeaways from CFP Rankings going into Week 10
The leafs are falling, everyone’s pushing their clocks back, and “Pac-12 Saturday After Dark” ratings begin to drop in comparison to the SEC matchup on Saturday afternoons. If all this is going on, then twelve times out of ten the annual circular argument regarding the College Football Playoff Committee and their weekly rankings are beginning to fester once again. With the first rankings from the CFP for the 2022 season being released this week, let’s take a look at the three biggest takeaways. The first one should come as no surprise.
CFP Ranking (Week 10)
Tennessee
Ohio St.
Georgia
Clemson
Michigan
Alabama
TCU
Oregon
USC
10.LSU
1. The SEC is in a League of Their Own
At this point, the SEC should just be competing in a league of their own (Be careful what you wish for college football fans, this could very well happen). Four teams in the top ten, three in the top six, and one could make the argument that the three best teams in college football right now are Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama in that order. This ranking shows that the College Football Playoff Committee has immense respect for the SEC and that respect is highly warranted. Tennessee leads the FBS in offensive efficiency and PPG, Georgia has the number one defense in the nation, and Alabama is well..Alabama. The SEC will feature two key matchups this weekend that could very well affect the entire landscape of the CFP with #1 Tennessee facing off against #3 Georgia, and #6 Alabama facing off against #10 LSU. The winner of the Tennessee/Georgia matchup will likely represent the SEC east in the SEC Championship game which is why Tennessee has a very good chance of still making the CFP if they lose this game because of their win against Alabama earlier in the season. Georgia on the other hand may face a tougher road to the CFP and may need assistance from other teams if they lose this game and still maintain hope of making it to the playoffs. The SEC west matchup between Alabama and LSU is a little more straightforward; both teams control their own destiny and if the winner of this game continues to win out and win the SEC Championship, their spot in the CFP is all but secured. The loser of this game on the other hand will likely have their CFP hopes erased after this week. A lot is at stake for the CFP just within these two SEC matchups, but like the old adage says “The road to the national championship travels through Tuscaloosa.”
2. The CFP doesn’t trust Michigan, and Clemson is riding on reputation
The CFP basically told Michigan after this ranking “Look, we like you but we don’t love you. Come back when you have the Big 10 Championship and then we can talk.” Michigan has been dominant throughout the entire season especially on the defensive end, and looks like they have a legitimate chance of knocking off Ohio St. at the end of the month. However, because the CFP has ranked them behind a Clemson team that has shown vulnerability and an inability to dominate in a weak ACC, Michigan has little margin for error throughout the rest of the season. Michigan all but needs to win out the rest of the season and and secure the Big 10 Championship to earn a spot in the top four. Ohio St. on the other hand, can afford to lose a close game against Michigan and still secure a spot in the top four despite not having a Big 10 Championship on their resume. I say this because history has shown that the CFP is partial towards Ohio St. despite if they have a loss on their record so long as they can pass the eye test. Speaking of eye test, Clemson is the only team in the top six that does not pass it. Based off of what they’ve displayed so far, if things get wacky and crazy, it will be hard for the CFP to justify taking an undefeated ACC Champion in Clemson, over a dominant one-loss Ohio St. or Georgia that does not have a conference championship.
3. You’re undefeated, unfortunately You play in the Big-12
The CFP said what everyone else in the country was thinking when they ranked one-loss Alabama ahead of undefeated TCU. The Horned Frogs deserve some respect for being undefeated up to this point playing in a power five conference that does have four teams in the Top 25. However, all of those teams have two losses or more. So what does that really say about the competition that you’re playing week in and week out? On top of that, TCU does not pass the eye test when matched up against all the teams ranked in the top six. On top of that, it appears the CFP shares the same sentiment that I have in that it appears highly likely that TCU will receive another loss before this is all said and done which will all but eliminate them from the CFP. Thus the whole situation will just figure itself out as it always does with this mess, year in and year out.
