College Football Playoff chairman explains reasoning behind Texas A&M, Florida's initial rankings
Texas A&M and Florida found themselves just outside of the Top 4 in the first College Football Playoff Top 25 of 2020. The Aggies were placed at No. 5, while the Gators were the 2nd team out at No. 6.
Following the unveiling of the rankings on ESPN, Gary Barta, chairman of the playoff committee, discussed why they decided to rate the teams the way they did.
“When it came down to it, they were close enough,” Barta said on ESPN, per Texas A&M beat writer Travis L. Brown. “The only loss Texas A&M has is to No. 1 Alabama and as a committee we decided that they needed to be a nod ahead.”
Texas A&M’s remaining schedule has it playing against LSU in College Station on Saturday, followed by a trip to Auburn on Dec. 5 and Tennessee on Dec. 12. Meanwhile, Florida hosts Kentucky on Saturday, visits Tennessee on Dec. 5 and wraps up the regular season against LSU on Dec. 12.
Those are 3 winnable games for both teams, and certainly neither can afford any slipups if they are to make a case for themselves for a Playoff berth.
That’s a reasonable explanation. The head-to-head matchups matter. If the Gators win out and beat Bama, they’re in. If Bama beats the Gators, the Aggies have a real shot if they keep on winning and looking good doing it. I have a hard time seeing the Committee give a playoff berth for a third Clemson/ND matchup in the same year. It’s possible, it just seems unlikely.
LSU looked improved last weekend, but I’d say this upcoming game has more to do with how quickly the Aggies play through the rust than what LSU does. This could be a chance for LSU to exact another dose of revenge for 7-OT or the Aggies to play strong and keep themselves in the hunt.
I can’t wait to watch. Please, nobody get sick….
Im not sure bout the whole ND vs Clemson deal talking bout the 3rd time round being in the playoff the way I see it I really believe both Clemson and the Irish are better than the Aggies and if Clemson beats the Irish with a healthy Lawrence and healthy defense but the Irish keep it close like Clemson did then I could absolutely see a part 3 to those teams in the playoff
The only ranked win came at home, 2 OT and the Heisman trophy candidate on the bench. If Clemson wins out ND will be out. I don’t think the 3rd rematch angle will play a role.
Clemson’s offense is loaded as usual…but their “D” is not like it has been. They are vulnerable & Notre Dame unmasked those deficiencies. Florida’s offense can match Clemson’s TD for TD. If fact with the Clemson DB’s Florida can score more Touchdowns than Dabo’s choirboys. A & M…they are playing very well of late. I’d rank Florida #4 and maybe have A & M at #5…Clemson at #6. No team should be in the playoffs riding a previous reputation.