College Football Rankings 2015: Final NCAA Overview of Week 10 Standings
The College Football Playoff committee released its first rankings Tuesday to muddled consternation—particularly with one-loss Alabama included in its initial final four as the lowest seed.
But fans need not worry. There are still four weeks of regular-season football followed by conference championship games that will play into the committee’s final rankings released on Dec. 6.
Last year’s final four featured three teams with a loss, including eventual champion Ohio State, which ranked 16th in the committee’s initial poll.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
There is more politicking in determining a college football champion than any other major American sport, but the competition usually sorts itself out in a sensible, albeit dramatic, manner.
That didn’t prevent some conjecture, as highlighted by USA Today Sports:
With four weeks to go, eight of the top 11 CFP teams still play opponents within those ranks, starting in Week 10 with Alabama hosting No. 2 LSU.
Here is a guide to what should be a revealing week.
Matchups with Playoff Implications
No. 2 LSU at No. 4 Alabama
LSU’s tilt with Alabama marks the first regular-season meeting between two CFP Top Four teams since the committee was established last year.
It's usually the regular-season game of the year namely because of its championship implications in the SEC and beyond. These two have combined to win the conference crown seven of the past 14 years and the national title five times in that span. The winner will remain firmly in the playoff mold.
More than just title implications, this year’s Alabama-LSU installment will likely have a hand in the Heisman Trophy race, with two contending running backs squaring off.
LSU's Leonard Fournette has been the distinct front-runner since Week 1, churning out an FBS-best 1,352 yards and 15 touchdowns while leading the Tigers to an unblemished record. But Alabama's Derrick Henry has quietly crept into the conversation with 1,044 yards and 14 rushing scores, including four games with at least 140 yards.
Alex Scarborough of ESPN.com noted Henry is in prime position to make up ground given the magnitude of the stage:
"Fournette’s lead in the Heisman race may seem insurmountable now, but Saturday’s matchup of No. 4 LSU and No. 2 Alabama could give Henry the stage he needs to state his case.
Both players will be running for a win and a chance to keep their teams' playoff hopes alive, but they'll also be competing for their own legacies.A decade from now, we’ll only remember one.
Who will it be?
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Lost in this monumental matchup is that lurking Ole Miss could still win the SEC West by winning out, including a Nov. 21 game against LSU.
Should LSU beat Alabama and the two-loss Rebels run the table, they would play in the SEC title game with a 7-1 SEC record and head-to-head tiebreaker. Alabama could win out and not even win its division should No. 18 Ole Miss go unbeaten the rest of the way.
But the Crimson Tide have won the national title before under those constraints, losing to then-No. 1 LSU in the 2011 regular season to miss the SEC Championship Game and later defeat the Tigers in a BCS title rematch.
Though unprecedented then, a similar scenario could manifest. The committee currently deems Alabama among the elite ahead of three unbeatens in the Big 12. Yahoo's Pat Forde offered a stern assessment of the panel's decision:
"Part of the beauty of being Alabama is that you never have to apologize for a loss. There's always an explanation for why it shouldn't be held against the Crimson Tide.
There seems to be someone ever-ready to offer a rationalization for the occasional Tide stumble. Or, in the latest case, a committee of someones.
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Have we mentioned the politicking of college football yet?
No. 16 Florida State at No. 1 Clemson
Logic says Florida State’s loss to 3-6 Georgia Tech, albeit in a miraculously chance fashion, would eliminate the Seminoles from playoff contention. But FSU ranks in the exact spot Ohio State started its title run a year ago.
A win over top-ranked Clemson would certainly woo the committee, but how much is speculation.
The Tigers are arguably the most complete team in college football, with a fifth-ranked defense and high-octane offense anchored by Heisman-contending quarterback Deshaun Watson.
There was little dispute for perching them among the CFP polls, as ESPN Stats & Info showed:
Clemson can lock up the ACC Atlantic with a win Saturday, but a Florida State upset would allow the Seminoles to control their own conference destiny—and perhaps beyond.
Consider the Seminoles, despite defeat to mediocre Georgia Tech, could still win the ACC, knock off the No. 1 team and have another redemption in the regular-season finale against a 10th-ranked Florida team that will likely play for the SEC crown.
This is the fifth straight meeting between the two where they both enter with one combined loss or fewer, and a defeat for either team will likely knock it out of the playoff race.
No. 8 TCU at No. 14 Oklahoma State
TCU and Oklahoma State are two of three Big 12 unbeatens, yet both trail one-loss Alabama and Notre Dame in the first CFP polls.
TCU and Baylor, also undefeated, were left out of the playoff last year because of a weak schedule—a carryover that continues in 2015.
But the three Big 12 contenders all have backloaded schedules beginning this weekend, and Adam Rittenberg of ESPN.com offered optimistic consolation:
"Patience is hard, but is a virtue that will pay off in the long run. You watched the inaugural playoff from the outside after the committee pushed you out in its final vote. You sat there as everyone mocked your "One True Champion" mantra, while your commissioner, Bob Bowlsby, handed out two trophies on the same day. You waited for this season and a chance to join in the party. The November schedule should give you every opportunity to impress the committee.
Breathe, Big 12. It should all work out in the end.
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With no conference championship game, the Big 12’s playoff fate lies in the hopes that one of its unbeatens remains unblemished. And with a round robin of sorts beginning this weekend in Stillwater—both TCU and Oklahoma State still each play No. 6 Baylor—much is on the line between these two 8-0 squads.
TCU's offense averages 7.7 yards per play, second to Baylor in the FBS, per TeamRankings, and quarterback Trevone Boykin has been on the heels of Fournette in the Heisman race with 3,344 all-purpose yards and 34 total touchdowns in eight games.
According to ESPN.com's Lance Zierlein, the junior has been compared to former Heisman winner Johnny Manziel for his dual-threat versatility, even drawing sideline props from opposition, courtesy of SB Nation:
Boykin and the Horned Frogs meet their biggest defensive test since slamming Ole Miss 42-3 in the Chic-fil-A Bowl last year. Oklahoma State’s pass rush has nine sacks and set a school record for quarterback hurries with 14, according to Cliff Brunt of the Associated Press.
The Horned Frogs are riding a 16-game winning streak and seeking redemption after falling from third to fifth in the CFP’s final rankings last year.
With all the chatter surrounding Baylor in the Big 12, TCU is in prime position to capture the nation’s attention on Saturday.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
