Did the new College Football Playoff rankings shock anyone when they were released Tuesday night? Because they surprised the heck out of me!
Can anyone think of the last time the defending national champion didn’t sit at No. 1 or No. 2 and still had an undefeated record through the first 10 games of the season? I most certainly can’t!
What about the fact that Alabama sat at No. 5 in the rankings last week, beat then No. 1 Mississippi State by five and is now top-dog? Jumping five spots all because of one victory… In the words of Keyshawn Johnson “C’Mon Man!”
With my opening arguments made, here is what those that make up the College Football Playoff committee came up with as a the College Football Playoff’s new top-ten:
I don’t know about you, but I see some flaws in the rankings. And I’m not just talking about the top four teams, I’m talking about top to bottom. So because I still have Wednesday night’s Late Night With Seth Meyers on the brain, I’m bringing one of his segments to Meet The Matts. Welcome to the first edition of Meet The Matts “Couple Things.”
First Thing: How is it that Oregon, a team that is on their bye gets jumped? Not only does Oregon have the best quarterback in the nation in Marcus Mariota, but they have one of the best offenses in the country too, averaging the third-most points per game with 46.0. Theoretically the Ducks should hold the top stop and not Alabama, but I guess the committee had other ideas.
Second Thing: Doesn’t head-to-head victories mean anything? Clearly the committee isn’t quite sure because, Albama is ranked ahead of Mississippi State, but TCU sits ahead of Baylor even though Baylor defeated the Horned Frogs by three back in October. If this was Division III football and there was a playoff system, Baylor would get the automatic bid over TCU because they 
won the head-to-head matchup.
Third Thing: So winning a conference championship doesn’t mean that much to you College Football Playoff committee? Selection Committee chairman, and Arkansas athletic director, Jeff Long said Tuesday night “the differences between teams four through seven are narrow, very narrow” and if Ohio State, Baylor or TCU were to win their conference championship and Mississippi did not, he’s unsure if that’s enough to push on team ahead of the other.
“I don’t think there is any way to project that,” Long said. “It will certainly be weighed into the equation on Dec. 6 and 7.”
How isn’t there a way to project that? Of course there is! If either Ohio State, Baylor or TCU won their conference and Mississippi St. did not, one of these three teams should replace the Bulldogs at No. 4. Doesn’t winning a conference championship mean something?
Side Thing: Why isn’t Ohio State ranked ahead of TCU and Baylor? The Big Ten has been a much more competitive conference than the Big 12 this season. 64 percent of the teams in the Big Ten (nine) have records over .500, while only 60 percent of teams in the Big 12 (six) have winning records. Not to mention the Big 12 has a team with only two wins while the Big Ten does not.
Final Thing: Look, it’s only November and a lot of this will be sorted out in the end, but at the same time, the people of the selection committee should think of these rankings each week like they are the final rankings. With that being said, here’s my College Football Playoff if it were to start today: No. 1 Oregon vs. No. 4 Mississippi State and No. 2 Florida State vs. No. 3 Alabama.
