It was almost serendiptous timing that the first release of the “official” polling that will determine the expanded 12-team field for this year’s college football laurels came just as the polls for the 2024 election were closing in numerous Eastern states. For better or worse, we have apparently turned a page in that world, and now we’re free to dissect and debate the one with arguably more directly impactful consequences to a majority of its fanbase.
CBS SPORTS’ Shehan Jeyarajah did his best to explain it in a piece that dropped at around the time North Carolina went red:
The first round of CFP Rankings were released on Tuesday, giving the nation its first look at how the College Football Playoff Selection Committee evaluates the field under the new 12-team format.
In these rankings, Big Ten foes No. 1 Oregon and No. 2 Ohio State claimed the top two spots. However, the Buckeyes pick up the 5-seed while the Ducks are projected to get the Big Ten’s auto-bid as conference champion and a first-round bye. That opens the door for No. 3 Georgia to pick up the 2-seed with No. 4 Miami and No. 9 BYU closing out the field at the top. Projected Group of Five champion Boise State slots at No. 12 both in ranking and seeding.
This first bracket includes four teams each from the Big Ten and SEC. Only one team from each the ACC and Big 12 are projected to make the field. Big Ten and SEC powers Ohio State, Texas, Penn State and Tennessee are projected to host first-round games.
Perhaps of more immediate significance is how these baseline seedings are impacting the games still be to be played this month en route to that still-hypothetical December:
There are four SEC teams ranked between No. 11 and No. 16 in the first CFP Rankings — No. 11 Alabama, No. 14 Texas A&M, No. 15 LSU and No. 16 Ole Miss. All have pivotal matchups that could extinguish their candidacy. LSU and Alabama play this week while Ole Miss hosts Georgia. Texas A&M has a big game against No. 5 Texas at the end of the year as they rekindle their rivalry.
And it just may add some urgency to games in the conference that bears the name that this group should have–the Big 12–but instead now inexplicably features 16 teams, as Jeyarajah continued:
When Iowa State fell to Texas Tech in Week 10, it made the Big 12’s path to two teams in the field more difficult. After the first CFP Rankings, the Big 12 is almost certainly stuck at only one bid regardless of what happens and is at risk of missing out on a bye, too.
BYU came in at No. 9 in the rankings despite wins over No. 13 SMU and No. 19 Kansas State, which is more top-25 wins than the four teams ahead of it (Indiana, Tennessee, Penn State, Texas) combined. The Cougars are undefeated but being treated almost more like a one-loss team; in fact, they rank behind five teams with a loss.
To say BYU has something to prove might be a gross understatement. But as the more entrenched Big 12 schools that are currently on the outside looking in can attest they’ve got their own concerns. A conference that is deemed this relatively weak isn’t exactly to command even strong bowl position, and there’s arguably as much on the line monetarily with that potential reality.
If nothing else, now that all that other stuff is in the rearview window, this will give us something safe to argue about through the next few weeks.
So for that alone, committee, THANK YOU!!
Courage…