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How the Week 11 College Football Playoff poll should have looked
By Jessi Lee
Published:
It’s the second poll released by the College Football Playoff Committee this season, and there has already been a shake up. Three teams in the original Top 8 lost in Week 10 (LSU, Michigan State and TCU), Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Toledo were all dropped from the poll, while Navy, North Carolina and Wisconsin have now joined the party.
So here’s how we think the CFP poll should look like after 10 weeks of football.
HOW THE CFP POLL SHOULD’VE LOOKED
1. Clemson (9-0) – Clemson hasn’t necessarily proven it should be No. 1, but it hasn’t proven it shouldn’t be either. The Tigers have the ninth toughest schedule in FBS, and no other undefeated team has a stronger schedule. For now, that gives them the No. 1 spot in CFP poll. They still face in-state rival South Carolina at the end of the regular season, so we’ll get a better idea of how they fare against SEC competition.
2. Alabama (8-1) – Last week, I was not yet convinced Alabama had earned its No. 4 ranking after losing to Ole Miss and narrowly escaping Tennessee. After beating LSU in such a fashion, the Tide has proven it deserves to be here. But November has just begun, and Alabama will have to fight to hold on to this spot, starting with No. 17 Mississippi State in Week 11.
3. Notre Dame (8-1) – Unlike Ohio State, Notre Dame has a tough schedule. And if the two teams were to face each other head-to-head, I’d put money on the Fighting Irish, especially with the way they’ve been playing lately. The big test for Notre Dame will come at the end of the season against No. 7 Stanford.
4. Ohio State (9-0) – I’m still not even convinced the Buckeyes should be in the Top 4 with their nine unimpressive wins, but I didn’t think they deserved to be in the Top 4 last season either, and we know how that went. I’m looking forward to Ohio State’s matchups with No. 13 Michigan State and No. 14 Michigan when we might be able to see what this team can actually do.
5. Oklahoma State (9-0) – Iowa had a win over Indiana, Baylor had a win over Kansas State, Stanford had a win over Colorado, but Oklahoma State showed up all three of them. The Cowboys routed the highly ranked, undefeated TCU. I wasn’t sure about Oklahoma State last week, but the Cowboys proved themselves in Week 10, and they deserve the big jump.
6. Baylor (8-0)
7. Stanford (8-1)
8. LSU (7-1) – LSU lost a big game to a good team. The Tigers certainly should drop in the polls, but seven spots seems excessive. They may be better than Nos. 4-7, but they didn’t show it this week. However, LSU has proven a lot more than Iowa has at this point in the season, so it’s got to stay ahead of the Hawkeyes.
9. Iowa (9-0) – Florida wins by two over Vanderbilt and the committee drops them a position in the poll. But Iowa wins by eight over Indiana and the committee bumps them up four positions? Please tell me how that makes sense. The Hawkeyes are overrated until they show me they deserve a higher ranking.
10. Florida (8-1) – The Gators didn’t look their best against Vanderbilt, but they found a way to win. Once the actual playoffs roll around, a win is what matters, regardless of how it’s done. They should have been ranked higher than No. 10 initially, and they shouldn’t have dropped below No. 10 for winning.
11. Utah (8-1) – When I said we needed convincing that Utah deserved its spot in the poll, I didn’t mean a win over Washington (4-5) would do the trick. The Utes have not shown us they deserve a Top 10 ranking.
12. Oklahoma (8-1)
13. Michigan State (8-1)
14. Michigan (7-2)
15. TCU (8-1)
16. Florida State (7-2) – Florida State lost this week, but it was to No. 1 team. The No. 16 team is supposed to lose to the No. 1 team. That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t still be No. 16. I agree with the committee on this one.
17. Mississippi State (7-2) – Mississippi State still doesn’t have any wins against ranked teams, but its win against unranked Missouri in Week 10 was a convincing one. It may be more difficult to tell how good a team is if it doesn’t play any other good teams, but that’s not always the case. The Bulldogs and QB Dak Prescott have had an impressive season, and they will get the opportunity to prove they can get a win versus a ranked team this Saturday against No. 2 Alabama.
18. UCLA (7-2) – Again, Northwestern has no business being ranked inside the Top 20. And again, all teams ranked behind Northwestern in the CFP poll should automatically move up a spot.
19. Navy (7-1) – See No. 18
20. North Carolina (8-1) – The Tar Heels have been underrated all season. The loss to South Carolina in the season opener was a tough one, but they have won eight straight since then. North Carolina still has to continue proving itself though, especially against Miami and in-state rival NC State.
21. Temple (8-1) – See No. 18
22. Memphis (8-1) – Memphis is still a good team with the strongest Group of 5 schedule, but the Tigers’ statement win over Ole Miss isn’t making as loud of a statement after the Rebels were upset, and the huge loss to Navy showed they still have a lot of room for improvement. I think the CFP committee was a little too lenient on Memphis’ loss in Week 10 when you see how it treated other teams with a loss (and even a win) this week. The Tigers need to focus on getting the job done against No. 24 Houston and No. 22 Temple if they want to be a part of the New Year’s Six.
23. Houston (9-0) – See No. 18
24. Wisconsin (8-2) – See No. 18
25. Northwestern (7-2) – I still don’t think Northwestern deserves to be ranked, especially after a particularly close win over Penn State, but the alternatives aren’t very attractive either. USC (6-3)? Not with three losses and zero impressive wins. BYU (7-2)? They beat San Jose State by a single point. No. Ole Miss (7-3) or Texas A&M (6-3)? Again, not with three losses. Toledo (7-1)? Well, the Rockets do have better record, but I don’t’ know that they’re any better than Northwestern. Western Kentucky (7-2)? Actually, the Hilltoppers are probably the most deserving of these seven teams to be ranked No. 25.
