CFP chair Mack Rhoades explains decision to rank Indiana as No. 2 over Texas A&M
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
College Football Playoff selection committee chairman Mack Rhoades on ESPN discussed why Indiana remained at No. 2 and Texas A&M at No. 3 in the latest Playoff rankings released on Tuesday.
The Hoosiers got all they could handle from Penn State on Saturday. But they escaped with a 27-24 win behind a last-minute drive capped by a jaw-dropping catch by Omar Cooper Jr. at the back of the end zone.
Meanwhile, the Aggies handled Mizzou with relative ease. They led 14-0 at halftime and 24-7 after three quarters as they cruised to a 38-17 win in Columbia.
Considering the way those games played out, why, then, didn’t the Aggies move up to No. 2?
“It was one of our longer discussions,” Rhoades said. “Indiana, we gave them the edge again defensively — we talked about that last week — and certainly offensively as well.”
While considering Texas A&M at No. 2, Rhoades said that the committee took the Aggies’ win against Notre Dame into account.
As for the victory over Mizzou on Saturday, though, the fact that true freshman Matt Zollers was starting behind center in place of the injured Beau Pribula and Sam Horn was noted, Rhoades added.
“The win vs. Missouri on the road, the committee talked a little bit about Missouri — not the Missouri team that they’ve been, playing their third quarterback, a true freshman,” he said.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
