The first edition of the 2020 College Football Playoff rankings came out Tuesday, and it’s safe to say that this selection committee has much more on its plate than in year’s past. Revised schedules, canceled games and uncertain rosters due to COVID-19 have thrown variables into the selection process that could not have been expected when the CFP started in 2014.
There wasn’t much of a surprise at the top, with Alabama, Notre Dame, Clemson, Ohio State, Texas A&M and Florida taking the top six spots, respectively. Behind them, though, things got weird. Let’s break down the biggest surprises of the first edition of the rankings.
No. 9 Georgia — Overrated
I’m sorry, did I miss the part of the season when Georgia (5-2) developed a coherent, consistent offense? Sure, JT Daniels was phenomenal under center last week against Mississippi State. But that was his first game for a Bulldogs team that had massive problems in the passing game prior to Mike Leach and Co. rolling into town.
The selection committee factors in players who are out due to injury or, in the case of this season, COVID-19. The absence of safety Richard LeCounte and several other starters on defense has hurt the Bulldogs, which has certainly played a part in some less-than-stellar defensive performances lately.
Plus, what’s Georgia’s best win? The home win over No. 22 Auburn in the second week of the SEC season. That’s nice. It’s also the only win that the Bulldogs have over a team with a winning record.
All of those factors combined make it hard to buy into Georgia being a top 10 team.
No. 14 BYU — Underrrated
College Football Playoff selection committee chair Gary Barta said after the rankings were revealed that BYU’s strength of schedule played a part in the undefeated Cougars (9-0) being ranked so low. My question is this … what do you expect BYU to do? Its schedule got absolutely decimated by the COVID-19 schedule shuffle, and it did all that it could to piece together something that is attractive based on the available options.
It went to Houston and Boise State and won big. How is BYU supposed to know that the Cougars would struggle and the Broncos would be on their third-string quarterback? It convinced Troy and Louisiana Tech — two traditionally solid Group of Five teams — to come to Provo, Utah. It left open the back end of the schedule to fill gaps of other teams that have games canceled due to the pandemic (even though one of those teams won’t be Washington). Spare me the strength of schedule talk. BYU should be commended for piecing together something halfway decent.
The Cougars have been more than halfway decent on the field. Quarterback Zach Wilson is a Heisman Trophy contender with 26 touchdowns and only two interceptions, the offense is third in the nation in yards per play at 7.87, fourth in scoring at 47.6 points per game and its defense ranks 12th nationally at 4.73 yards per play.
What more does the committee want BYU to do?
No. 17 Texas — Overrated
The Big 12 is, admittedly, a mess. But Texas (5-2) at No. 17? With a loss to 3-4 TCU on its resume? Hard pass.
Texas’ only signature win is over No. 23 Oklahoma State in a game that, let’s be honest, it was lucky to win. The Longhorns were out-gained 530-287, had 17 first downs compared to the Cowboys’ 32 and were only 2-of-15 on third down.
I know that none of that matters since they got the win. But in a year that is as self-contained as this, the “eye test” matters more than it ever has in the previous six years that we have been doing this. What about Texas makes it more impressive than No. 19 North Carolina, No. 20 Coastal Carolina, No. 21 Marshall or No. 22 Auburn? Nothing.
No. 15 Oregon — Underrated
Oregon (3-0) is halfway to a perfect regular season, passes the eye test and hasn’t been phased after coming out sluggish in the first half of all three games. That’s excusable since COVID-19 has brought chaos to the college football world.
The Ducks lead the Pac-12 in yards per play (7.65) are third in scoring defense (26 points per game) and have stars on both sides of the ball who are just getting into the flow of the season.
The committee clearly valued the number of games played over actual playoff worth this week. That’s the only way to justify two-loss teams like Georgia, No. 11 Oklahoma and No. 13 Iowa State ahead of the Ducks.
