The College Football Playoff committee released its latest set of rankings on Tuesday night without too many surprises.
Oklahoma was the biggest mover, going up to No. 8 after a road win over Alabama, which dropped to No. 10.
The Crimson Tide are effectively holding onto the last playoff spot. Miami, the top-ranked ACC team, is projected to get that league’s spot for now, while Tulane would get the last automatic berth, going to the fifth-highest-ranked conference champion.
That leaves BYU and Utah on the outside looking in. Vanderbilt, USC, Georgia Tech and Michigan are some other teams looming.
USC can make a statement this weekend, with a road win over Oregon. The Ducks are ranked seventh, while USC is 15th. For the Trojans, a win this week likely catapults them into the top 10.
It could also expose a top-10 team that doesn’t have the resume of a top-10 team.
Three teams are being overvalued by the College Football Playoff committee, and the list starts with Oregon.
Oregon (No. 7)
The Ducks have beaten up on some weak opponents, but their best wins this season were an ugly victory at Iowa and a 20-point road win over Northwestern.
They don’t have a single win over a currently ranked team. Alabama has beaten two teams in the top 14 and four in the top 25.
Oregon passes the eye test. But it feels like the Ducks are getting too much credit for a win at Penn State that’s not all that impressive, and a close home loss to Indiana, something the Ducks share with Iowa.
Oregon has looked great at times. It also looked unimpressive in a 21-7 win over 3-7 Wisconsin. Saturday’s game will answer some questions, yet the Ducks are being overvalued by the committee.
Tennessee (No. 20)
Strength of schedule should matter, but not when the College Football Playoff committee is artificially pumping up the schedule strength of one conference in particular: the SEC.
The five teams in the top 10 are worthy. It’s hard to argue against them. But outside of that, the SEC feels propped up.
Tennessee, for instance, hasn’t beaten a single team with a winning record this season. Losing to Georgia in overtime and to Oklahoma by single digits isn’t a good enough reason to be ranked.
Missouri (No. 22)
Like Tennessee, the best achievement of the Missouri Tigers has been losing to ranked teams.
SMU, from the ACC, has a similar record. It has three losses to teams with winning records, plus a win over No. 13 Miami, a better win than Tennessee or Missouri, yet the Mustangs didn’t crack the top 25.
No. 23 Houston is 8-2. The Cougars lost to fifth-ranked Texas Tech earlier in the season, plus to West Virginia. They also beat 25th-ranked Arizona State on the road, yet are ranked behind two teams that haven’t beaten a single team with a winning record.
It feels like the College Football Playoff committee continues to favor the SEC, but it’s about more than that.
Too much is being based on the eye test. That’s why Oregon is ranked where it’s at and some SEC teams, too.
The resume should matter above everything. Performance on the field should be the determining factor, but once again, that doesn’t appear to be the case.
