College Football Playoff chair Boo Corrigan looks foolish after explaining final rankings
It shouldn't be a surprise that the College Football Playoff rankings are massively flawed. The committee got the top four right on Sunday — Georgia, Michigan, TCU, and Ohio State (in that order). Ohio State is in the top four not because they deserve it, but because no one else really did either. Where the […]
It shouldn't be a surprise that the College Football Playoff rankings are massively flawed.
The committee got the top four right on Sunday — Georgia, Michigan, TCU, and Ohio State (in that order).
Ohio State is in the top four not because they deserve it, but because no one else really did either.
Where the rankings are flawed are at No. 5 and No. 6.
The committee has Alabama ranked at No. 5 and the Tennessee Vols at No. 6.
Tennessee and Alabama are both 10-2. Tennessee beat Alabama head to head and they beat LSU by 27 (LSU beat Bama).
The only argument for Bama over the Vols is Tennessee's 25-point loss to South Carolina.
The Gamecocks, by the way, are ranked higher than any team that Alabama beat this season (SC is No. 19 and Texas, which lost to Bama, is at No. 20).
Boo Corrigan, the chair of the College Football Playoff committee pointed out "big wins" as one of the main reasons that Ohio State was at No. 4 in the final rankings over Alabama (because of the Buckeyes' "big wins" against Penn State and Notre Dame).
Penn State finished at No. 11 and Notre Dame finished at No. 21.
Tennessee's "big wins", meanwhile, were against No. 6 Alabama and No. 15 LSU.
Alabama's "big wins" were against No. 20 Texas and No. 22 Mississippi State.
Now, I'm not arguing that UT should have made the playoff. You can't lose to South Carolina by 25 and expect to jump a one-loss Ohio State.
But if the criteria that Corrigan and the committee used to differentiate Ohio State and Alabama is "big wins", then shouldn't the Vols be in that conversation since they beat Alabama and they have better wins?
Corrigan also pointed out that Michigan and Ohio State was "close" before the game got away from the Buckeyes.
If that's something the committee is considering, then why is there no mention of Tennessee being down by only four points almost midway through the third quarter against South Carolina before the game got away from them?
I don't love that argument for the Vols, but if the committee is going to use that argument, they should use it for all teams.
The committee, quite simply, didn't do the job they've been charged to do. They constantly moved the goalposts to rationalize their decision, too.
Fortunately, the playoff is expanding soon and these decisions will have some room for error. But that doesn't change the fact that Tennessee was robbed of a trip to the Sugar Bowl this season.
Featured image via Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports
