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The Big Ten and SEC became Saturday’s big winners.
Losses by Clemson and Pittsburgh in the ACC and Iowa State and Kansas State in the Big 12 increased the chance that those two leagues will be reduced to one playoff bid apiece and widened the path for the “Super Two” conferences to claim four playoff bids apiece.
The College Football Playoff committee will open a window into their thinking when the first playoff rankings are released Tuesday night.
How the committee operates is shrouded in mystery. Here’s how the committee describes its rankings process on the CFP’s website: The selection committee chooses the 12 teams for the playoff based on strength of schedule, head-to-head results against common opponents, championships won and other factors.
Well, that single sentence clears it up, doesn’t it?
The committee’s lack of transparency is sure to heighten the controversy over its playoff picks. The public is not even privy to the strength of schedule metric, which SportSource Analytics provides to the committee.
Basically, the committee can make up whatever rationale it wants to justify its playoff field.
“Record matters,” CFP executive director Rich Clark said Wednesday, “but we’re not trying to pick the most deserving teams. We’re trying to pick the best teams. This committee has got to look at (a team’s) entire body of work.”
Here’s my prediction of what the top 12 of the rankings could look like come Tuesday night:
1. Oregon (9-0): This is the easy part. The Ducks are No. 1. The longer the season goes, the more dominant Oregon looks.
2. Ohio State (7-1): The Buckeyes timed their road win at Penn State perfectly, three days before the first ranking. That showing should linger in committee members’ minds as they search for a No. 2 team.
3. Georgia (7-1): The Bulldogs’ metrics are excellent, but their…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/predicting-cfp-rankings-committee-handle-171051665.html
Author : USA TODAY Sports
Publish date : 2024-11-03 17:10:51
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