College Football Rankings: Postseason

These are my rankings for the bowl season and why I have Cincinnati ranked so low:

Alabama Crimson Tide 12-1: vs 8 Cincinnati W
Georgia Bulldogs 12-1: vs 3 Michigan W
Michigan Wolverines 12-1: vs 2 Georgia L
Ohio St. Buckeyes 10-2: vs 10 Utah W
Ole Miss Rebels 10-2: vs 6 Baylor L
Baylor Bears 11-2: vs 5 Ole Miss W
Oklahoma St. Cowboys 11-2: vs 9 Notre Dame W
Cincinnati Bearcats 13-0: vs 1 Alabama L
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 11-1: vs 7 Oklahoma St. L
Utah Utes 10-3: vs 4 Ohio St. L
Arkansas Razorbacks 8-4: vs Penn St. W
Texas A&M Aggies 8-4: CANCELLED
Michigan St. Spartans 10-2: vs 16 Pittsburgh W
Oklahoma Sooners 10-2: vs 22 Oregon W
BYU Cougars 10-2: vs UAB L
Pittsburgh Panthers 11-2: vs 13 Michigan St. L
Mississippi St. Bulldogs 7-5: vs Texas Tech L
NC St. Wolfpack 9-3: CANCELED
Tennessee Volunteers 7-5: vs Purdue L
Clemson 9-3: vs Iowa St. W
Kentucky Wildcats 9-3: vs Iowa W
Oregon Ducks 10-3: vs 14 Oklahoma L
Wake Forest Demon Deacons 10-3: vs Rutgers W
Wisconsin Badgers 8-4: vs Arizona St. W
Louisiana Rajun Cajuns 12-1: vs Marshall W

How do I make my rankings?

I rank my teams mostly based on who I think would win head to head. While Michigan St. has a better record than Texas A&M, I think Texas A&M would win if they played on neutral site.

Why is Cincinnati ranked so low?

While Cincinnati is ranked 4 in the CFP rankings, I personally disagree because they did not look good in most games against inferior opponents (Indiana, Navy, Tulane, Tulsa, USF, and East Carolina) and they didn’t even convert a single 3rd down conversion against Houston. I think Cincinnati is a top 10 team at their best, but they struggle to show up against inferior opponents.

Why is Georgia ranked ahead of Michigan?

I give Georgia the edge over Michigan because of how dominant the Bulldogs looked until the SEC championship. Michigan has had their fair share of struggles with teams like Rutgers, Nebraska, and Penn State. In the end it doesn’t really matter how you rank these two teams because they’ll play each other anyways, but I think Georgia is the better team.

Why is Ohio St. ranked no. 4?

I have Ohio St. at 4 which many people may disagree with. I personally think this Ohio St. team is better than there playoff team last year. They just had an inexplicable loss to Oregon, who really isn’t very good, and Michigan happens to be an extremely good team this year. I personally think only two teams can Georgia. Alabama because they already did, and have the best QB in the business, and Ohio St. because they have the best offense in the country.

Why are SEC teams Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas A&M, and Mississippi St. ranked so high?

I have Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas A&M, and Mississippi St. a lot higher than most people would put them. I think Tennessee’s offense is a force to be reckoned. 4 of their 5 losses are to teams that are going to NY6 bowl games (Alabama, Georgia, Pittsburgh, and Ole Miss). The game against Pittsburgh was early in the season when they were starting the wrong QB, and Ole Miss was a close one that was very controversial. Arkansas is very underrated. They were a few yards away from beating Ole Miss, and played extremely well against Alabama. They could easily be 10-2 right now. They also have wins over Texas A&M and Mississippi St. which I think are impressive. Texas A&M had a weird stretch at the beginning of the season with losses to Arkansas and Mississippi St., but to end the stretch they beat Alabama! They then won their next 3 games in convincing fashion, but lost to Ole Miss and LSU at the end. At their highs the Aggies are one of the best in the country, but at their lows they can be very mediocre. Mississippi St. is a team that is over looked by too many people. One of their losses was due to awful officiating against Memphis, and their others were also redeemable. They lost to LSU and Arkansas by three each, and Alabama and Ole Miss are teams that most people should expect to lose to. The Bulldogs do have good wins though, beating NC St., Texas A&M, Kentucky, and Auburn. That is my reasoning behind their high rankings.

What teams didn’t quite make the cut?

Teams that I consider to be right outside of my Top 25 are Houston, Penn St., Purdue, Minnesota, and Iowa. Houston did not impress me against Cincinnati, Penn St. finished the season on a 2-5 stretch, Purdue just isn’t as good as Louisiana, Minnesota has bad losses to Bowling Green and Illinois, and Iowa has an awful offense and a dependent on turnovers that led to them being smacked by Michigan 42-3. Those are the reasons why I did not rank them.