With yet another week providing some shocking upsets, we are now at the second ediiton of the College Football Playoff rankings. We haven’t seen the last of it, but this week’s rankings once again sparked discussions around the country.
Playoff Seeding
As a reminder, the first four highest ranked conference champions will receive the highly-coveted first round bye. The current rankings would have Oregon (ranked 1st overall), Texas (ranked 3rd overall), BYU (ranked 6th overall) and Miami (ranked 9th overall) in the first four slots.
The committee actually has Ohio State ranked as the second best team in the country. However, a head-to-head loss to fellow Big 10 school Oregon puts them in the 5th seed: a seed that might be just as if not more coveted than the Top 4.
As for the first round, we have a couple potentially fun matchups between some SEC and Big 10 schools.
Ole Miss is projected to travel to Happy Valley and take on Penn State in the first round, with the former coming off of a comfortable victory over the Georgia Bulldogs.
Alabama, who picked up a dominant win down in Death Valley, would travel to Bloomington in the first round to face an Indiana team that will be tested in just a couple weeks against the committee’s second best team.
The Tennessee Volunteers would host Notre Dame in a home playoff showdown in Neyland Stadium, and Ohio State would face the Group of Five autobid participant; which would currently be the Boise State Broncos led by Heisman hopeful Ashton Jeanty.
SMU and Georgia are the first two out. The former has the inside track to the ACC title at the moment, and the latter is coming off a second SEC loss and faces Tennessee this weekend.
However, there is one more team that should be mentioned as having an inside track: that being the Army Black Knights.
The lone undefeated team outside the Top 12, Bryson Daily has been running the triple option to perfection for the Black Knights offense.
Despite just barely being ranked in the Top 25, a matchup with Notre Dame next weekend could potentially change everything.
Could an upset over the committee’s number 8 overall team lead to them stealing the Group of 5 auto bid? We’ll find out in two weeks.
The Controversy
Where has the most discussion been in this rendition of the rankings? Look no further than seeds 3 and 4.
BYU (6th overall, 3rd overall seed, strength of schedule 54th)
Key Wins: SMU (14) Kansas State (16)
Starting with BYU, the Cougars remain undefeated and are currently first place in the Big 12 hence the first-round bye. An appearance in the Big 12 Championship game would also add another resume booster to their name, with a Top 20 Colorado squad the likely matchup.
If they drop that game or even a game before that? It will be interesting to see how the committee values them over some 2 loss SEC and Big 10 teams, or even Notre Dame.
Miami (9th overall, 4th overall seed, strength of schedule 38th)
Key Wins: Louisville (19)
Unlike BYU, the Hurricanes have not made it through the season unblemished. After a series of close calls, it was Georgia Tech who finally knocked off Cam Ward and Miami this past weekend.
With the loss being in conference play, Miami is no longer projected to play in the ACC Championship. That would mean a first-round bye is in jeopardy; however, a 9th overall ranking means they would still receive an at large bid if they were to miss out.
With Miami having a significantly weaker schedule than several teams, they’re a very big example of just how much weight the win-loss column holds in the committee’s eyes. However, they are not the biggest.
Indiana (5th overall, 7th overall seed, strength of schedule 100th)
Key Wins: Michigan
Curt Cignetti has the Hoosiers rolling early in the year, and the committee has taken notice early on.
They have by far the weakest strength of schedule ranking, but unlike Miami have won convincingly against every team on said schedule. The most recent win against Michigan is the only exception.
While the “overrated” chants are getting incredibly loud, all will come to a head in one week. Indiana will get a chance to prove themselves legit against Ohio State.
If Indiana gets blown out, they can kiss the playoffs goodbye. If they win or even keep it close? The conversation likely changes completely.
SEC: It Just Means More (tiebreakers)
The Big 12 has arguably been the most chaotic of the Power 4 conferences, but the SEC is very close and may match it solely off of this:
You see this? This right here is the playoff committee’s worst nightmare.
The cannibalism in the SEC has been real this year: and at this point, nobody has a clue who is going to face off for the conference title in Atlanta.
Then there’s the other question: does anyone really WANT to play for the conference title?
Southeastern shake-ups
Let’s start from the top, shall we? As you can see, Tennessee and Texas A&M currently sit atop the SEC rankings, with Texas one game behind both.
Texas will play Texas A&M in College Station to end the regular season, so that will take care of itself. Barring any more slip ups beforehand, the winner of this game will likely be in Atlanta.
As for Tennessee, they will travel to Neyland and take on a Georgia team in this weekend’s playoff elimination match, with the Bulldogs suffering their second conference loss last weekend.
If Georgia beats Tennessee, that would open the door for Alabama or Ole Miss to make their way to the SEC Championship (through a series of tiebreakers I do not understand)
But if you’re Ole Miss or Alabama, or even Georgia for that matter – would you really want to risk a third loss?
Based on the precedents being set early on, there’s a chance a three-loss runner up would get bumped out of the bracket by a runner up or two-loss team from another conference.
Would a one-loss Indiana get an at-large spot over a 2-loss Ole Miss? So many questions to be answered the next three weeks.
Heisman Hopefuls
The Heisman Trophy race seems to have narrowed down as the the season ends. And we may finally have our first non-QB winner since 2020, when Devonta Smith took the trophy to Tuscaloosa.
Travis Hunter, Colorado CB/WR
While the Buffaloes 4-8 record last year would’ve been a major deterrent for voters, Deion Sanders has led the squad to a 7-2 record thus far.
With a possible Big 12 Championship in the cards, Hunter’s play on that stage could be the certified “Heisman moment” many tend to look for each season.
Dillon Gabriel, Oregon QB
Oregon is currently ranked first overall in the country, and quarterback Dillion Gabriel is a big reason for that. Now at his third school, Gabriel broke Case Keenum’s record for most career touchdowns accounted for.
At the moment, Gabriel is Top 10 in FBS in passing yards (8th) and passing touchdowns (6th). It’s more about the big moments for him though, such as beating Ohio State in an absolute thriller in Autzen.
Another strong showing against either Ohio State or Indiana would garner some Heisman praise for Gabriel.
Ashton Jeanty, Boise State RB
The last running back to take home the Heisman Trophy was Derrick Henry back in 2015. However, a new challenger approaches.
If you are a linebacker and see this in the backfield, all you can really do is start praying.
Ashton Jeanty has been lighting the college football world on fire, averaging just over 200 rushing yards a game. He is currently 400 yards over the next highest rushing yard leader in FBS.
“Oh yeah, against WHO?!”
If you need a Heisman moment, Jeanty put up 192 yards and 3 touchdowns on the ground against the current number one team in the country.
For context, that’s more rushing yards on his own than all but one TEAM Oregon has played so far this season.
Ohio State, who has two very good backs in their own right, didn’t even match Jeanty’s performance in Week 2 of the season.
The highlights and numbers are going to be incredibly hard to deny, especially with him proving the competition does not matter.
Other noteable names
There are several other players on the outside looking in as well. Miami’s Cam Ward and Indiana’s Khurtis Rourke could get invites to New York, with the latter set to play on a very big stage in two weeks.
Jalen Milroe was 6th last year, and would also be a potential finalist after a return to his early-season form against LSU.
Regardless, we are in for many twists and turns to finish off the season. Four more weeks, and the first postseason in this new era of college football will take shape.
