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Unbeaten doesn’t equate to superiority.
The College football Playoff selection committee sent a strong message with Tuesday night’s latest rankings, a top four now featuring Oregon ahead of unblemished Florida State in the two-hole and TCU just in front of Alabama after both teams posted wins over ranked teams.
Current top six in the CFP poll
- Mississippi State
- Oregon
- Florida State
- TCU
- Alabama
- Arizona State
TCU strengthened its lead over Baylor despite both teams having one loss and the Bears winning the matchup head to head on Oct. 11.
Commence the Baylor bashing.
“TCU and Alabama are almost indistinguishable,” said Playoff chairman Jeff Long. “When it comes to TCU vs. Baylor, we were able to give them a closer look and review. Baylor only has one Top 25 win. Head to head comes into play when all other things are equal. But at this point, or three consecutive weeks now, Baylor’s body of work and strength of schedule is not the same so head to head has not been the determining factor.
“We believe our rankings will send messages and that’s enough. But our job is not to send a message to college football teams.”
RELATED: Examining this week’s CFP rankings
Sitting at No. 7 in the rankings, it’ll be difficult for Baylor to play its way into the top four if the teams ahead of the Bears win out. As many as four of the six — one SEC, one Pac-12, TCU and Florida State — could realistically do so.
“I think we all would agree, right now, that TCU has done more (than Baylor),” said ESPN analyst Kirk Herbsreit. “The committee sees that, I see that, you guys see that. For now, you throw away the head to head. When you look at non-conference scheduling, Baylor is 128th out of 128. We would be basically rewarding that schedule if you give Baylor the benefit of the doubt.”
ESPN host Rece Davis agreed.
“Four teams at the moment have three wins or fewer (on Baylor’s schedule),” he said. “That’s costing the Bears right now.”
Quick SEC takeaways from the third CFP Top 25:
- Ohio State moved ahead of Auburn and Ole Miss into the eighth spot after an impressive win at Michigan State. The Tigers and Rebels are two of six two-loss teams ahead of 15th-ranked Georgia, a Playoff longshot even if the Bulldogs win out.
- Mississippi State continues to be the selection committee’s favorite team, but that could change on Saturday when the Bulldogs travel to Alabama, the SEC’s only other team that remains in great position to play in the final four.
- Sandwiched between Nebraska and Notre Dame at No. 17 is three-loss LSU.
- Texas A&M made its first appearance in the rankings at No. 24. The Aggies host East leader Mizzou this weekend.
ESPN reaction from its analysts Tuesday night:
Herbstreit: “I’m a little bit surprised that Florida State dropped out of the top two considering Oregon has the one loss. Before everybody starts yelling and throwing things at their television, the thing to remember about those six (at the top) is that they’re in a great position with four weeks to go. If those six can win out, they can control their own destiny and can get to where they want to be. You go down the list of these six and they’re all in great position.”
Davis: “TCU’s (remaining) schedule is pretty light lifting with the exception of a Thanksgiving night trip to Texas.”
Danny Kanell: “I think TCU has a better resume than Alabama. Last week, (the commitee) said it was even based on the eye test, right? I think the committee valued (the Horned Frogs’) impressive win over Kansas State vs. Alabama’s close overtime win over LSU.”
Joey Galloway: “I’m very impressed TCU jumped Alabama. That’s a statement to me. I love the parity and I love what this committee is doing, sitting down and breaking down teams instead of going by tradition. Six teams right now control their own destiny. No sense of worrying about it, just go out and win your games.”
