FIRST playoff selection committee rankings [link]

[ballz2thewall]

http://www.collegefootballplayoff.com/view-rankings

[hogvillejames]

Its good to see the Big 10 teams at bay. Its offensive to me that some team like Michigan St and Ohio St can just rail scrub opponents week after week, having "one big game" and then make a BCS game if they win just one decent game.

[moses_007]

Three of the top four teams are in the SEC West.  One of those will drop out, and Alabama will slide in before it's all over.

[moses_007]

I think the final four teams in the playoffs will be:  Florida State, Michigan State, Oregon and Alabama.  I predict Auburn, Mississippi and Mississippi State will eventually fall out of the playoff picture.

[Hawgey-Davidson]

Three of the top four teams are in the SEC West.  One of those will drop out, and Alabama will slide in before it's all over.

No way SEC gets that many in. There will bitchin and moaning when 2 SEC teams are in. Although we probably deserve 3, the cannalbillizing of our conference is just beginning. Starting saturday at Starkvegas! Go damn Hogs!

[Hog Milanese]

Realistically, the SEC should have 3 or 4 in every year. I mean, let's be honest.

But to appease the rest of the nation, I wouldn't expect more than 2.

[A_R_K_A_N_S_A_S]

Realistically, the SEC should have 3 or 4 in every year. I mean, let's be honest.

But to appease the rest of the nation, I wouldn't expect more than 2.

Isn't the committee supposed to be honest? They're not there to appease the rest of the nation are they? Serious questions. I thought they are suppose to find the best 4 teams, regardless of what the media and advertising money wants. Am I wrong?

Right now, the SEC should have 3 teams in the top 4 and they do, so it looks good to me so far. This is the first standings and I hope the are setting the tone and sending a message of how it's going to be at the end. If you are better than the SEC, play like it and prove it.

Everybody knows where they stand, it's playoff season right now. Keep winning and you stay alive in the committee's eyes.

[Jek Tono Porkins]

Well it's hard to argue with the top 4 rankings.

But what exactly is the rationale for having K-State #9? Their only loss has been to Auburn. I don't see why TCU, Oregon, or Michigan State should be ranked ahead of them.

We will have to see how the season plays out but if K-State is a one-loss team at the end of the season and Auburn is as well, I think it would be pretty hard to put K-State behind any other 1-loss team outside of the SEC.

[Boston RedHogs]

I think the final four teams in the playoffs will be:  Florida State, Michigan State, Oregon and Alabama.  I predict Auburn, Mississippi and Mississippi State will eventually fall out of the playoff picture.

Miss St has been the most consistent and complete team to date.  I wouldn't count them out.

[jjdlc]

Regardless of what really should happen, I can't imagine the SEC will get more than 2 teams in, will not be surprised if politics win out and we only get 1.

[twistitup]

Oregon, TCU, Bama, Fl State will be the final 4....no particular order

Notre Dame will be a close #5 and will be first in if anyone above falls

[Dominicanhog]

what will be sad is if Georgia ramainis the only once beaten and the SEC is left out.

[idochog]

Stupid to release standings this early imo

[rzrbackrob]

18 Oklahoma ahead of 19 LSU is the most confusing

Oklahoma has lost to #7 TCU and #9 K State
Beat #20 WVU

LSU has lost to #1 Miss St and #3 Auburn
Beat #4 Ole Miss

By their own rankings, LSU has played 3 of the 4 top teams and beat one of them. How on earth does Oklahoma have a better resume than that?

[bphi11ips]

what will be sad is if Georgia ramainis the only once beaten and the SEC is left out.

Won't happen.  They have to go through 2 of the current top 6 to get there.

[Piggfoot]

This is the same song second verse. There will be no difference this year except the name and a second game.

[A_R_K_A_N_S_A_S]

Well it's hard to argue with the top 4 rankings.

But what exactly is the rationale for having K-State #9? Their only loss has been to Auburn. I don't see why TCU, Oregon, or Michigan State should be ranked ahead of them.

We will have to see how the season plays out but if K-State is a one-loss team at the end of the season and Auburn is as well, I think it would be pretty hard to put K-State behind any other 1-loss team outside of the SEC.

18 Oklahoma ahead of 19 LSU is the most confusing

Oklahoma has lost to #7 TCU and #9 K State
Beat #20 WVU

LSU has lost to #1 Miss St and #3 Auburn
Beat #4 Ole Miss

By their own rankings, LSU has played 3 of the 4 top teams and beat one of them. How on earth does Oklahoma have a better resume than that?

Must be a Big 12 thing?

[VirginiaHog]

TCU >KState

[popcornhog]

I think the final four teams in the playoffs will be:  Florida State, Michigan State, Oregon and Alabama.  I predict Auburn, Mississippi and Mississippi State will eventually fall out of the playoff picture.

I'll go

Bama, SEC
Oregon, PAC
State, SEC
Michigan State, BIG

The cute thing will be that Bama has already beat State and Oregon will have already beat Michigan State.

I'm predicting this on Louisville beating FSU.

[popcornhog]

18 Oklahoma ahead of 19 LSU is the most confusing

Oklahoma has lost to #7 TCU and #9 K State
Beat #20 WVU

LSU has lost to #1 Miss St and #3 Auburn
Beat #4 Ole Miss

By their own rankings, LSU has played 3 of the 4 top teams and beat one of them. How on earth does Oklahoma have a better resume than that?

Agree.

[MuskogeeHogFan]

18 Oklahoma ahead of 19 LSU is the most confusing

Oklahoma has lost to #7 TCU and #9 K State
Beat #20 WVU

LSU has lost to #1 Miss St and #3 Auburn
Beat #4 Ole Miss

By their own rankings, LSU has played 3 of the 4 top teams and beat one of them. How on earth does Oklahoma have a better resume than that?

I wouldn't give a great deal of thought or consideration to the lower rankings. Even the initial top 4 is going to change as we progress and as far as the play offs go, the top four is all that matters.

[TheGunther]

Realistically, the SEC should have 3 or 4 in every year. I mean, let's be honest.

But to appease the rest of the nation, I wouldn't expect more than 2.

I don't agree with this logic. The SEC plays each other in conference play. Each has an equal shot to get to the SEC championship game and thus the playoff
Unless that winners record with the SECCG is worse than another power 5 conference winner.

Could you imagine if they put the teams that played in the NFC champsionship game in the Super Bowl just because they have a tougher conference and played a close game. No, at some point you don't get second chances, it's winner take all. 

[RAZORHOGG15]

Its good to see the Big 10 teams at bay. Its offensive to me that some team like Michigan St and Ohio St can just rail scrub opponents week after week, having "one big game" and then make a BCS game if they win just one decent game.

I will say this, I hate the big ten but I do have a lot of respect for michigan state.  I just think they do things the right way.

[root_hawg]

SEC will only have one by year end.  Look for MSU, Oregon, FSU and SEC champ

[Atlhogfan1]

It will sort itself out but TCU and K State are the new Boise and VT frauds. 

All 1 loss SEC teams control their own ability to get into the playoff.  Win out and they will be in including UGa.  I don't think any more than two make the playoff.

The amount of SEC hatred being spewed this week exceeds anything I have seen.  B1G fans overlook the horrible September their teams had.  TCU and BU played horrible non conference competition.  K St not surprisingly failed at home against an SEC opponent who didn't play very well because K St still had far inferior athletes. 

[Science Fiction Greg]

Have an OU fan on facebook yelling at Long for saying that what conference each team was in played no role in their ranking.  He said if that played no role, 3 of the top 4 teams wouldn't be from the same conference.

Well, this is just flat wrong.  Most of the rankings that are based purely on mathematical formulas (ie 100% unbiased, objective) have at least 4 out of the top 5 teams from the SEC.  Several even have 5 out of the top 5 from the SEC.

The committee was actually pretty conservative with putting SEC teams at the top relative to the completely objective rankings.

They (non-SEC team fans) really don't like it when you point this out to them, for the record.

[longpig]

18 Oklahoma ahead of 19 LSU is the most confusing

Oklahoma has lost to #7 TCU and #9 K State
Beat #20 WVU

LSU has lost to #1 Miss St and #3 Auburn
Beat #4 Ole Miss
LSU lost by a combined 39,  OKlahoma 5.
By their own rankings, LSU has played 3 of the 4 top teams and beat one of them. How on earth does Oklahoma have a better resume than that?

[Science Fiction Greg]

SEC will only have one by year end.  Look for MSU, Oregon, FSU and SEC champ

This is distinctly possible.  One of the emphasized criteria for the committee is conference championships.  None of the teams at this point have won one or lost one, so that plays no role.  This opens up the possibility of multiple teams from the same conference.  Once we have teams that won conference championships and teams that have not, this may be less possible than it is at this point.

[bkjbearcat]

Is the SEC now the Evil Empire when it comes to sports? Over the last month there has been story, after story after story of #SECBias.

Does anyone else find it ironic that college football fans from the coast's and Texas are talking about a favored media bias of a SOUTHERN conference and how unfair that is? Yet, when I flip on my TV and watch any TV show, movie, or national news broadcast all I see is a COASTAL BIAS?

So the coastal bias that I see in pop culture is just my imagination.

But the college football bias they see is very much real?

[longpig]

Oklahoma is ranked ahead of LSU because they lost those 2 games by a combined 5 points and LSU was blown out by Auburn.

[hogsanity]

And people have insisted for years that having a playoff would stop all the arguing. IT was laughable when they said, and it is laughable now.

3 ways this plays out:

1. 2 SEC teams end up with 1 loss, most likely 2 teams from the secw, with one winning the seccg. Both teams with one loss make the playoff

2. No SEC teams end up with only 1 loss, but a 2 loss SEC teams makes the playoff

3. No sec team ends with 1 loss, and no sec team makes the playoff.

With who is still left on everyone's schedule any of the above are very possible. old misses still has Aub, Ga and MSu.  MSu still has Bama and old misses. Bama still has Aub, LSU and MSU. GA still has old misses. Aub still has old misses and MSU. Actually it is still possible for 3 SEC teams to end up, after the seccg, with one loss.

[ChicoHog]

18 Oklahoma ahead of 19 LSU is the most confusing

Oklahoma has lost to #7 TCU and #9 K State
Beat #20 WVU

LSU has lost to #1 Miss St and #3 Auburn
Beat #4 Ole Miss

By their own rankings, LSU has played 3 of the 4 top teams and beat one of them. How on earth does Oklahoma have a better resume than that?

Not that it really matters but OU lost close in both games and LSU got blown out in both games.  LSU was not a very good team earlier this year.  they are no playing much better.  the list emcompasses the entire season, not just the last couple of weeks. 

[hogsanity]

Why is everyone so concerned with the "rankings" below maybe #8?  Does it matter who is 18 and who is 19?

[Swine-as-wine]

This is distinctly possible.  One of the emphasized criteria for the committee is conference championships.  None of the teams at this point have won one or lost one, so that plays no role.  This opens up the possibility of multiple teams from the same conference.  Once we have teams that won conference championships and teams that have not, this may be less possible than it is at this point.

What seems odd to me, is listening to Jeff Long, say that conference affiliation has
no part in their equation, yet a conference championship does? That contradicts itself.

IMO.....
it's all going to boil down to the last weekend of the regular season, and
both the Iron Bowl and Egg bowl. The winner of those two games, will be
in, unless which ever one of the two ends up in the SEC champ game loses
to the SEC east team, in which case that team will go, and the winner of the
Egg/Iron bowl that didn't go the the SEC champ game, will slide in.

In other words, 2 of the following teams and no more, will make to the "4"...
'Ol Miss, Miss State, Alabama, Auburn, or Georgia.

[skbhog]

SEC!!! SEC!!! SEC!!!

[hogsanity]

What seems odd to me, is listening to Jeff Long, say that conference affiliation has
no part in their equation, yet a conference championship does? That contradicts itself.

I took that to mean that if the 4th spot came down to teams from the same league, or similar rated leagues, and the teams vying were all similar in record and SOS, etc, if one of them was a conf champ, that would be the deciding factor.

[Swine-as-wine]

I took that to mean that if the 4th spot came down to teams from the same league, or similar rated leagues, and the teams vying were all similar in record and SOS, etc, if one of them was a conf champ, that would be the deciding factor.

You're most likely right, but then it's still just a guess, because it hasn't been clarified
clearly. By "similar rated teams", I'm gonna assume that you're referring to the power
five conferences, but not each of them measures up full to the others either, with the SEC
basically in a league of it's own. Are those conference championship bonus points, going
to weigh that heavily? For example, does a 10-2 Ohio State Big Ten championship, put
them in over an 11-1 Mississippi State, who loses to Alabama and doesn't even make
the SEC conference championship game? Or maybe a 10-2 Kansas State, that wins the
Big 12 outright, make it over an Auburn, who they lost to, yet has a similar record?

Most think that this will all play itself out, but on the other hand, there's some scenarios,
where things could get pretty nasty too. And I mean nastier than what it's going to get
anyways lol.

[root_hawg]

Only one SEC west team will make it; if GA runs table and wins the conf champ. they will make it otherwise only 1 gets in

[ChicoHog]

No point in getting worked up about it now.  Wait until the season is over.  Hope stanford beats oregon Saturday and knocks their "no defense" team out.  Would not be surprised to see Louisville beat FSU either.  Lot of good games this weekend.  Go Hogs! 

[Swine-as-wine]

Only one SEC west team will make it; if GA runs table and wins the conf champ. they will make it otherwise only 1 gets in

Being as how there could possibly be two 1 loss teams from the west, and two 2
loss teams that have been in the top 5 virtually all year long, your prognostications
seem more like a plea from the Big 10 or Big 12, than someone that's actually thought
out what they were trying to say. We'll find out after this weekend, if Fla St. gets another
loss before the end of the season, when they play the Louisville Petrinos. Some say that
the SEC is going to canibilize themselves, which won't have near as much affect on the
outcome as the Big 12 doing the same. Just won't be enough meat left on the bone to
make the playoffs for any of the Big 12 teams after all is said and done. The ACC, has one
and only one shot at a team making it, and they lose this weekend, their year will be over.
Oregon is the only team from the PAC that has a chance, they could lose up to 2 more
times before the year is out. That leaves Notre Dame, and an undefeated East Carolina,
that will be lucky to make it to the top 10, even if finishing up without a loss. ND has at
least 2 more chances to lose, at minimum. That leaves the survivors of the SEC, with
anywhere from 4-5 teams with a viable shot at making the 4 team playoff and a washed
up BIG 10, with at best a 1 loss Mich St team that got their asses handed to them by an
Oregon team with no guarantee of even making it, along with the crying Irish, trying to
push out superior SEC teams, that have been ranked above most of them the entire year.

And you're saying only 1 SEC team makes it? Might better rethink that assessment.

[hogsanity]

You're most likely right, but then it's still just a guess, because it hasn't been clarified
clearly. By "similar rated teams", I'm gonna assume that you're referring to the power
five conferences, but not each of them measures up full to the others either, with the SEC
basically in a league of it's own. Are those conference championship bonus points, going
to weigh that heavily? For example, does a 10-2 Ohio State Big Ten championship, put
them in over an 11-1 Mississippi State, who loses to Alabama and doesn't even make
the SEC conference championship game? Or maybe a 10-2 Kansas State, that wins the
Big 12 outright, make it over an Auburn, who they lost to, yet has a similar record?

Most think that this will all play itself out, but on the other hand, there's some scenarios,
where things could get pretty nasty too. And I mean nastier than what it's going to get
anyways lol.

No way to know, without clarification from the committee. My thought it that a 1 loss MSu team would get in over a 10-2 OSu big10 Champ because of where OSU is rated right now, with only 1 loss. If they lose again, no way they get in with two losses, even if they win their conf cg. The problem the BIG has is that any loss pretty much anyone other than MSu or OSu is a BAD loss. That is the same problem the ACC has. if FSU loses to anyone left on their schedule, it is a bad loss.