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We promised we wouldn’t get worked up about it.
We told ourselves that only five of the 12 teams who earned a top-four spot in the first College Football Playoff poll made the field. We knew that this was going to rile up fanbases in ways that few things have so far. We knew that there was going to be sweeping generalizations made.
But that didn’t mean we weren’t going break it all down.
On that double-negative note, here were my five takeaways from the first Playoff poll of 2017:
1. The selection committee had the guts to do it
Georgia at No. 1, Alabama at No. 2. The selection committee did what many thought it couldn’t do.
With all due respect to an Alabama team that’s been its typical dominant self, that No. 2 ranking is entirely because of Florida State. If the Seminoles simply looked competent instead of completely collapsing, it’s not even a debate that Alabama is No. 1. Instead, it’s Georgia who has the big-time non-conference win at Notre Dame, and as a result, it has the No. 1 spot.
Let’s be honest. This doesn’t really matter yet between Alabama and Georgia. If anything, it just means LSU is in for a painful Saturday. In all likelihood, this thing is going to play itself out in Atlanta at least once. But the selection committee made a statement about the Dawgs’ Notre Dame win. Literally.
Close calls at many levels this week. That victory over Notre Dame tipped No. 1 to Georgia.
— Bill Hancock (@BHancockCFP) October 31, 2017
2. Yikes, B1G
So there was talk of potentially not one, but two B1G teams sneaking into the initial top four. That didn’t happen. Instead, Ohio State came in at No. 5 and undefeated Wisconsin was all the way back at No. 9.
Why? It goes back to non-conference play. Ohio State’s marquee non-conference game was a dud. Getting dismantled by Oklahoma had a lasting impact, and it’s one that rightfully put the Buckeyes behind the Sooners. Yes, Ohio State destroyed teams after that and it picked up a big-time win against Penn State on Saturday. But like the Buckeyes and Badgers, the Lions didn’t have a marquee non-conference win, either.
Last week, I went in depth about how the B1G has a big problem on its hands. The fact that the B1G’s Playoff contenders don’t have big non-conference wins will hurt the conference more right now than its recent Playoff struggles.
Is there still a path for a B1G Championship winner to make the field? Of course. I’d argue that Penn State can make the Playoff without a B1G Championship, but that depends on craziness. The B1G wouldn’t mind if teams started dropping like flies in November.
3. Notre Dame ain’t going nowhere
The selection committee did the right thing by putting the Irish at No. 3. Leaving the Irish outside of the top four would’ve suggested that even with one loss, there might not be a path for a Playoff spot without a conference championship.
But with three dominant wins at Michigan State, vs. USC and vs. NC State, the Irish easily have the best résumé of the one-loss teams. And if you needed any more evidence that Notre Dame is legit, it lost to No. 1 Georgia by a point.
I wrote two weeks ago that the Irish are the fly in the ointment for Power 5 teams. As long as Notre Dame keep winning, the likelihood that at least two Power 5 conference champs get left out increase. Most college football fans have never needed a reason to root against Notre Dame, but they certainly got one on Tuesday night.
4. Undefeated? So what?
Miami (FL) and Wisconsin fans were probably disappointed to see their teams barely crack the top 10 on Tuesday. But really, they should’ve expected it. The selection committee has said repeatedly that as long as a team doesn’t have multiple losses, it isn’t going to use a zero in the loss column as the most important factor.
We all know that the Canes and Badgers haven’t played anyone yet. Will that change in a matter of weeks? Yes. Will both teams have a clear chance to make the field? Of course. But this is about evaluating teams based on where they stand right now. Wisconsin’s best win is…at home against Northwestern? And Miami’s best win is…a one-point victory against Georgia Tech?
And people were surprised that the committee wasn’t willing to put them anywhere near the top four? This is about who you’ve beaten. To be elite, you have to beat the elite. Their time will come, but for now, both the Canes and Badgers are on the outside looking in.
5. I actually have no real gripes
Wait, what? I thought were all supposed to be livid about the first poll? To be honest, I’m really not. At all. I had the top three exactly how the selection committee had, and I thought they would mistakingly put Ohio State ahead of Oklahoma. They didn’t do that. Instead, they rewarded Clemson for its quality non-conference win, and they acknowledged Oklahoma’s head-to-head advantage against Ohio State.
The selection committee wants to motivate teams to play big non-conference games. If there’s one thing that they’ve been truly consistent with, that’s it. After all, it makes their job easier. When Georgia and Notre Dame play or Ohio State and Oklahoma play, they don’t have to sift through conference strength of schedule or any of that nonsense.
The goal is to get the top four teams into the field. We don’t get a feel for that when Washington plays Rutgers or when Penn State plays Pitt. Credit the selection committee for taking what looked like a wild top six and actually making some sense of it. They deserve a golf clap for a job well done.
We’ll see if that’s how I feel in a week.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Down South. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.
