- A case could be made for Texas A&M to leapfrog Indiana at No. 2.
- Texas Tech deservingly gets a bump for beating Brigham Young, but the Cougars get punished too harshly.
- Some teams outside the top 12 are still in the hunt to make the field by the end of the season.
With some notable results in the past week, how did the College Football Playoff selection committee do in its second batch of rankings?
There was plenty to be happy or confused about in the first reveal of rankings that will determine who makes the 12-team playoff. But we must remember they aren’t definitive, and they are bound to be shaken up as high stakes, late season matchups happen. From Texas Tech’s major win over Brigham Young, Indiana’s scare at Penn State and more ACC contenders losing in Week 11, there are some changes that make sense, while others are still questionable.
Here are the grades for every single team in the Nov. 11 edition of the College Football Playoff rankings.
1. Ohio State: A+
The defending champions keep rolling, and it would take a loss for the Buckeyes to get taken down from the top spot given the committee’s praise for their play on both sides of the ball.
2. Indiana: A-
It took a spectacular catch for Indiana to avoid a damaging loss to Penn State. Even though the Hoosiers have mostly been dominant, a case was made to knock them down a spot given the depressed state of the Nittany Lions.
3. Texas A&M: B+
An argument could be made for Texas A&M to jump to No. 2 after a quality road win at Missouri and Indiana’s scare. Still, there’s nothing wrong with the Aggies staying put with their biggest games to come.
4. Alabama: A+
It wasn’t a pretty win against LSU, but the Crimson Tide didn’t deserve to move up or down. They’re on track for the SEC title game with a win against Oklahoma.
5. Georgia: A+
No upset scare from Mississippi State lets the Bulldogs stay put, hoping Alabama or Texas A&M will lose so it can jump up in the top four.
6. Texas Tech: A+
It was going to be interesting to see how much the Red Raiders would be rewarded for beating Brigham Young. Texas Tech jumping past Mississippi is a smart move considering how it has manhandled the Big 12 with Behren Morton in the lineup, but staying behind the SEC stalwarts.
7. Mississippi: A-
There shouldn’t be any brownie points for beating a Championship Subdivision team. The Rebels could have dropped a spot after their defeat of The Citadel, but nothing wrong with them staying at No. 7.
8. Oregon: A
It’s not easy going into Kinnick Stadium and leaving with any type of win. The short-handed Ducks get rewarded for the Iowa victory and more opportunities await with Southern California and Washington ahead.
9. Notre Dame: A
Don’t get it wrong, Navy is a good team. Notre Dame is just way better with the Midshipmen not having quarterback Blake Horvath, and if it can beat Pittsburgh, there’s a case for the Fighting Irish to jump up.
10. Texas: B+
The Red River was quiet with bye weeks, and Texas gets to move up as a result of Brigham Young losing in emphatic fashion.
11. Oklahoma: D+
Another team that gets to move up a spot while it didn’t play, but Oklahoma didn’t deserve that improvement.
12. Brigham Young: F
The Cougars finally fell, but they drop completely out of the projected field. It wasn’t close against Texas Tech, but the drop is way too much for losing to a top six team on the road. BYU has a better resume than Oklahoma.
13. Utah: C+
The Utes should stay behind a team it lost to, but this ranking still seems too high. It’s clear Cincinnati joining the rankings helped add weight to their win last month.
14. Vanderbilt: D+
Even though Vanderbilt looks good, it doesn’t own any wins over teams currently ranked. The Commodores need at least an impressive win to justify this.
15. Miami: B-
Great job by the Hurricanes to reaffirm dominance by beating down Syracuse. Miami still has the Notre Dame win still in its pocket, and the losses aren’t as awful as they appeared to be.
16. Georgia Tech: B-
No movement for the idle Yellow Jackets but they won’t stay put if they finish the season strong. They head back on the road to Boston College after their loss to North Carolina State two weeks ago.
17. Southern California: B+
The Trojans probably think they’re good enough to be in the top 16, but they get plenty of chances to move up with Iowa and Oregon next on the schedule.
18. Michigan: A-
19. Virginia: A
One could argue the loss of Chandler Morris greatly affected Virginia’s defeat to Wake Forest, but it still isn’t pretty losing to another unranked team.
20. Louisville: B+
After a confounding home loss to California, it appears the only way for Louisville to get in the playoff is by winning the ACC, which will require a lot of help.
21. Iowa: C+
Yes, Iowa nearly beat Oregon. But its still the third loss of the season, and the Hawkeyes should have fallen more than just one spot.
22. Pittsburgh: B+
23. Tennessee: C-
Moving up as a product of other teams losing, but Tennessee remaining in rankings − especially above deserving teams − is still confusing.
24. South Florida: B-
The Bulls are grateful Tulane knocked off Memphis last week, but is South Florida the best Group of Five team?
25. Cincinnati: A
The Bearcats should’ve been in the initial rankings to begin with. The committee finally fixed the problem.