College Football Playoff: SEC well represented in Week 10 rankings
By Robert Ford
Texas A&M Football (5-3) missed the initial College Football Playoff rankings released on Halloween night. That made sense, but did the rest of the ranks?
Two of the Aggies’ three losses leaves Aggieland scratching their heads and thinking how high this team could have been ranked if they held on to the lead against UCLA or if they had showed up against Mississippi State.
Coach Kevin Sumlin and his 2017 team still have plenty to play for. They can still finish second in the west, beat LSU for the first time since joining the SEC in 2012 and win nine games with a shot at 10 in the bowl game. If the Aggies run the table, look for their final ranking to be in the neighborhood of No. 15. That will definitely leave a sour taste in everyone’s mouths heading into the bowl game and spring ball.
As for the first release of the College Football Playoff rankings, there are two SEC teams at the top. Currently, there are only five undefeated teams (Georgia, Alabama, Wisconsin, Miami and UCF) left in college football which leaves no debate on why Georgia is No. 1 and Alabama is No. 2. The others are ranked No. 9, No. 10 and No. 18 respectively.
SEC holds the top two spots
I agree Georgia should be at the top with wins at Notre Dame which is No. 3 and a 28-point blowout of Mississippi State who sits at No. 16. Both of those wins are better than any win that Alabama has. Bama did beat Florida State to open the season, but they are now 2-5.
Both Georgia and Alabama still have to play Auburn which is No. 14, but besides that Bama has a tougher schedule with No. 19 LSU this week and a visit to Starkville next week. The Bulldogs have South Carolina, Kentucky and the rivalry game with Georgia Tech. Look for Alabama to be No. 1 when both teams show up in Atlanta for the SEC championship game.
Moving our attention to Notre Dame, I was not surprised they came in at No. 3. Their only loss was by one point to Georgia in the second game of the season. Their wins are the main reason why the committee has them where they do. The Irish beat No. 24 Michigan State, No. 17 USC and No. 20 North Carolina State. With games against up start Wake Forest, undefeated Miami, Navy and No. 21 Stanford the Irish control their own destiny. How could the committee drop them if they win out? They cannot and will not.
That leaves us with who is No. 4. The spot is currently held by Clemson but for how long? If quarterback Kelly Bryant does not stay healthy it will be tough for the Tigers to stay in this spot with games against NC State, Florida State and South Carolina. Getting through those then sets up a game against either Miami or No. 13 Virginia Tech in the ACC championship game. Very much like Notre Dame, I believe Clemson controls its own destiny.
As for the rest of the top 10, it goes like this. Oklahoma, Ohio State, Penn State and TCU all have one loss and have no room for another loss. For Wisconsin and Miami, they need to win out and see what’s happened in front of them.
Expect more chaos to come
I sit here on my wife’s birthday and it has me thinking about the ranks. The SEC could get two, the Irish are sitting rather nice and the ACC has to like their position. The Pac-12 is in real trouble, their highest ranked team is Washington at No. 12. They need a ton of help. The Big 12 needs their championship game to pit two teams with one loss. How they get there no one knows just yet? And for the Big Ten, Penn State losing hurt and now they need several things to happen which includes Wisconsin going undefeated and Ohio State not losing again.
The next several weeks will be fun to try to figure out what this committee will do. Will there be more upsets? Absolutely, that’s what we love about college football. Using a term that my dad used, do not get caught half-stepping. Now that we’re in November, every game moves up a notch on the important scale. I’ll be back next week to break down the second release of the college football playoff rankings.
Next: Ranking every Sumlin-coached Aggie team
For our Aggies, let’s remember the game starts at 11:00 p.m. CT, not noon or 12:30 p.m.. You still have a lot to play for and maybe it’s time to break the crazy streak that only the road team wins in the Auburn series. Gig’ Em.