So if you’re a fan of NCAA Football, Tuesday was the day you had been waiting for since the opening kick-off. It was the day the College Football Playoff rankings came out. On December 6th, these very same rankings will decide which four teams will be eligible to play for the National Championship.
So while these rankings are very fluid, it is also very telling if you are one of say, the top six teams right now. Which is why the first edition of these rankings is an absolute joke. I take no issue with Clemson being the top team, or LSU being number two, or even Ohio State coming in third.
Some may argue that the Buckeyes are the defending champs and are undefeated this season, but look at the way they have won, and the competition they have beaten. I don’t think it is unfair to say they are lucky to still be undefeated.
Where I do have issue is with the next two teams in the rankings. No.4 Alabama and No.5 Notre Dame.
This is where the total bias of college football and the disgusting power of ESPN rears its ugly head. Both of these teams has a loss, and is ranked ahead of undefeated Baylor, Michigan State and TCU.
If the idea of the playoff is to truly find who is the best team in college football, then how well the team travels, or how big their television ratings, shouldn’t mean a darn thing.
But apparently it does. How else can you explain Alabama being a part of the Final Four? They lost to Ole Miss—who also lost to Memphis—is ranked 18th. Now granted, the Rebels have two losses, so the low ranking is acceptable, but how do you explain Alabama being rated higher than three undefeated teams?
The Tide’s “big wins” this season have come against three over-rated teams, Wisconsin, Texas A&M and Georgia. Of those three teams, only A&M is still in the AP Top 25 (No.25). So where are the amazing wins that has this one loss team so highly ranked?
They don’t exist.
But since everyone seems to think the SEC is such a powerful conference, there is an unfair bias that makes you think Alabama is good. Hopefully when they get spanked by LSU this weekend, the world will see how mediocre a team they really are.
Speaking of mediocre, how in the name of Knute Rockne does Notre Dame get into the Top 5? Again, who the hell have they beaten? Their one chance at a truly good team, they lost to Clemson. Other than that, I am not so sure wins over unranked USC, Georgia Tech, and an overly-hyped Temple team does not make the Irish one of the elite teams.
The fact that they don’t have a conference to call their own should not be a benefit to them.
It is their choice. They think they are too good and too important for a conference, well too bad. Just because they have a large fan base does not make them better than Baylor. If the two teams were to square off at a neutral field right now, who do you think would be favored? I think Vegas would install the Bears as a four-point favorite, which means they are thought of as the better team.
Let’s hope this season plays out the way it should and Alabama and Notre Dame both lose another game, knocking them from the lofty perch they undeservedly sit at currently. I will also say, it is so strange to not see a single Pac-12 team in the Top 10, but when a conference cannibalizes itself, that’s what happens.
Now some of this will shake out, like when Michigan State travels to Columbus on November 21st and on November 27th when Baylor travels to Fort Worth to take on TCU. Whichever of those teams win their games, and are able to remain undefeated, they should be in the Final Four.
There is a lot of football left to be played, but Alabama and Notre Dame should not have the “brand name” advantage of being ranked higher over undefeated—and more deserving—teams like Michigan State and Baylor.
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