College Football Playoff ranking snubs: Who got slighted during first release?

There’s still plenty of football left, but it’s time to overreact to the first edition of the College Football Playoff rankings of the 12-team postseason era.

The college football world has been waiting for the first release of the rankings, eager to see how the new 12-team playoff will take shape. Especially since the top four spots won’t go to the top four ranked teams, and just because a team is ranked in the top 12, doesn’t mean it will get a playoff spot.

Yes, there are still plenty of games remaining that can alter the playoff race – and there’s no precedent for how this new playoff alters things – but the first set of rankings sets the path teams need to go down in order to secure one of the 12 coveted spots. So who got snubbed and faces an undeserved uphill battle heading into the final stretch of the season?

Indiana Hoosiers tight end Zach Horton (44) celebrates after the Indiana Hoosiers sealed the win with another touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Michigan State Spartans at Spartan Stadium.

The surprise story of the season, Indiana still is getting disrespected with its No. 8 ranking. The committee proved last season the eye test matters when it picked Alabama over Florida State. So why hasn’t the same been applied to the Hoosiers?

Indiana has dominated every team it has faced this season with double-digit victories in every game. It trailed for the first time at 10-0 against Michigan State, and responded with 47 unanswered points. To this point, no team has been able to stop Curt Cignetti’s team, but it appears the schedule is preventing the Hoosiers from moving up. Their best win is against Washington with no wins over current ranked teams. However, Texas and Penn State also don’t have any victories over currently ranked teams.

So far, it’s looking like the name is hurting the Hoosiers more…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/college-football-playoff-ranking-snubs-023950379.html

Author : USA TODAY Sports

Publish date : 2024-11-06 02:39:50

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