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I don’t want to rain on the glorious College Football Playoff parade, but what in the world are we doing with Indiana?
The Hoosiers are a fantastic story, a rare underdog in a college football world full of the predictable. But for the love of all things Knight, this team has no business in the Top 12 of the CFP ― much less the top five.
But there’s an underlying problem: because Indiana is unbeaten while playing a ridiculously easy schedule, it continues to climb in the poll. You know, the old school poll ideals of “they’ve haven’t lost, they must be good.”
So when Indiana invariably gets blown out by Ohio State on Nov. 23, the Hoosiers aren’t dropping from No. 5 in the nation to out of the poll. See the problem now?
Indiana quarterback Tayven Jackson (2) runs for a touchdown during the fourth quarter against Washington at Memorial Stadium.
How many other teams in college football would be unbeaten playing a schedule of lower tier Big Ten teams, and a non-conference schedule of Florida International, Western Illinois and Charlotte? Nothing screams cakewalk quite like a 40-53 opponent record, with Nebraska (5-4) holding down the best record of the bunch.
As long as the Hoosiers aren’t blown out by Ohio State, they’re in the CFP. With a schedule that won’t get much better with Ohio State and the worst team in the Big Ten (Purdue) remaining.
A look at three overvalued and three undervalued teams in Week 2 of the College Football Playoff rankings.
UP AND DOWN: Army, Georgia lead CFP ranking winners and losers
Overvalued
Penn State
Last week: No. 6.
This week: No. 4.
Best win: 21-7, vs. Illinois
Worst loss: 20-13, vs. Ohio State
Opponent record: 42-40.
The skinny: Want to see Indiana’s doppelganger? Check out Penn State. Who exactly have the Lions beaten? If you say Illinois, you immediately lose your college football…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/indiana-top-five-college-football-033437419.html
Author : USA TODAY Sports
Publish date : 2024-11-13 03:34:37
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