In an odd sense, the College Football Playoff rankings coming Tuesday evening will serve as an homage to Alabama, a team that is about to descend through those rankings.
Following the 26-14 pummeling it took at Auburn last Saturday, how far might Alabama descend from its familiar home at No. 1, where it has resided for a mind-boggling 52 percent of the rankings across four years? That’s the foremost question ahead of the release at 7 p.m. Eastern time, and that question comes freighted with all the gravitas of the Alabama name, which during these 2010s has amassed even further clout than it had already.
The College Football Playoff selection committee has issued 23 sets of rankings since its inception: seven in 2014, six in 2015, six in 2016 and four so far in 2017. Alabama began in 2014 at No. 6, then No. 5, then No. 5. On Nov. 18, 2014, it barged from No. 5 to No. 1, and it has never left the top four since, holding down No. 1 for 12 of the 23 rankings. (The committee, which determines the four-team playoff and other matters, does not issue postseason rankings.)
Most pundits envision, as a top four heading into this weekend’s conference championships, Clemson (11-1), Oklahoma (11-1), Wisconsin (12-0) and Auburn (10-2). From there, an ironclad top seven fills with Alabama (11-1), Georgia (11-1) and Miami (Fla.) (10-1). While an educated guess would have Alabama at No. 5, it conceivably could ride its name to No. 4, and things could get loud from there.
[Playoff forecast: Alabama needs help, but probably will get it]
From there also, and from here on, two things work against Alabama:
First, unique among the top seven, its regular season has ended. It has no more wins to attain to impress a committee that deeply values wins. In the coming weekend, Clemson will play Miami in the ACC championship, Auburn will play Georgia in the Southeastern Conference championship, and Wisconsin and Oklahoma will play top-10 opponents, Ohio State and TCU, respectively, in the Big Ten and Big 12 championships.
Second, there’s the matter of the comparable weakness of the wins Alabama does have. It signature act of daring this season, opening against Florida State, precisely the kind of risk that enhances the sport, tumbled in value when Florida State subsequently tumbled in value to 5-6. Alabama’s nine Power Five victims are 53-54 this season, set against numbers such as that of Clemson (a marvelous 67-39), Auburn (54-30, with just seven Power Five victims but two top-tier ones in Georgia and Alabama), Oklahoma (57-51) and Georgia (57-49).
Wisconsin’s schedule is actually a case worse than Alabama’s, with zero Power Five nonconference wins and a Power Five set of victims who have gone 50-58, but the Badgers are expected to ride their distinction as the lone unbeaten into the magic four of the penultimate playoff rankings. If they do not, there will be noise. If they do so, they will become the 20th program to land in the top four in the playoff era, with Alabama having done it 20 times and Clemson 16. Wisconsin has spent the first four rankings this season at No. 9, No. 8, No. 5 and No. 5.
With the top two teams of last week having lost — Alabama at Auburn, and Miami at Pittsburgh — Clemson figures to rise from No. 3 to No. 1. Not only did the Tigers have a compelling stash of wins already, but they added to it last weekend with their 34-10 nonconference blasting of South Carolina, which had debuted in the rankings last week at No. 24. Clemson has seven wins over Power Five opponents with winning records, with its two other Power Five wins coming against teams at 5-6. It has three wins over ranked teams, and could lose one this week if South Carolina drops out, but might gain one if Louisville (8-4) enters.
Another wild card in the batch would be Auburn, No. 6 last weekend, but capable of turning up just about anywhere north of that tonight. Three of its wins have come against the sport’s second tier (Georgia Southern and Louisiana-Monroe of the Group of Five) and the third tier (Mercer of the Football Championship Subdivision), and, alone among the top seven, Auburn has lost twice.
It has had to make its mere seven wins against Power Five teams count, and that it has, throttling both Georgia and Alabama, the only two teams to rank No. 1 so far this season. Auburn and Oklahoma are the only two teams with two wins over teams which will appear in the top 10 this week. Careful rankings watchers will study how far Auburn moves up, as well as how far Alabama moves down.
There’s a certain fan base that won’t mind watching either.
More college football: Tennessee is a mess, and a new coach might not be able to fix it In Dan Mullen, Florida gets nice consolation prize after losing out on Chip Kelly Auburn told us the world had not ended in October. Did we simply not believe them?
Read Again https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/when-college-football-playoff-rankings-are-released-alabama-could-be-in-uncharted-waters/2017/11/28/b2457668-d466-11e7-95bf-df7c19270879_story.htmlBagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "When College Football Playoff rankings are released, Alabama could be in uncharted waters"
Post a Comment