It’s been a confusing college football season so far. Nobody felt that more deeply than the College Football Playoff selection committee, which raised eyebrows galore in its first attempt of the season to make sense of it all.
Undefeated Miami received top billing in the committee's first crack at the CFP rankings Tuesday, followed by Georgia and undefeated Utah.
From there, the 13 people in that room could have been picking from a hat. Defending champion
Indiana (8-1) was ranked fourth — eight spots ahead of Ohio State (6-2), which beat the Hoosiers 19-15 last month but has since lost quarterback Julian Sayin.
At No. 5 was Alabama (6-2) — eight spots ahead of Tennessee (6-2), even though the Tide is only a few weeks removed from a 16-point loss to the Vols. At No. 6 was Kentucky (7-1), followed by Texas (6-2).
UCLA, the nation's only other undefeated team, was ranked eighth.
Oh, and Notre Dame. The Irish (7-1) were ranked 11th — seven spots lower than their spot in the AP Top 25 — and that ranking brought with it a simple message: As the last team that would make the bracket if the playoffs started today, they need to beat Miami on Saturday or risk slipping due to a schedule that clearly did not impress the committee.
“A very, very good football team,” committee chair Hunter Yurachek said of Notre Dame. “But when you look at Notre Dame's schedule and the wins they have versus the teams ahead of them, they don't have that signature win right now.”
In fact, Notre Dame's biggest game so far resulted in its only loss — 28-24 at BYU two weeks ago.
Ohio State was ranked 12th, but would be on the outside looking in because Boise State, ranked 25th, would get the Group of Six automatic bid.
It would have been easy — maybe too easy — to blame the Buckeyes fall on the fact that their offense is now in the hands of a freshman quarterback, Luke Fahey. But Yurachek said the committee was more concerned with Ohio State's defense in its 30-18 loss to a 20th-ranked USC team that hasn't impressed anyone so far.
Regarding the gap between the Hoosiers and Buckeyes — and the Crimson Tide and Volunteers — Yurachek brought up a blast from last year that confused most everyone: Head-to-head comparisons don't come into play unless the teams are in the same four-team “pod,” i.e., 1-4, 5-8, 9-12.
“Yes, they had that loss to Tennessee,” Yurachek said of the Tide. “But Tennessee doesn't have that same level of quality wins. Yes, they beat Alabama, but you have to go deeper” to find its next-best win.
Meanwhile, he said, the Tide got lots of love in the selection room for a win against Mississippi State in September before the Bulldogs disintegrated with the injury to QB Kamario Taylor. Mississippi State is currently 2-4.
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