What The College Football Playoff Rankings Should Look Like

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Tonight the College Football Playoff selection committee will come out with its first playoff rankings for the 2019-2020 season. Starting now the rankings will mean much more than they did for the first 9 weeks of the season, because the top 4 four determines who gets into the playoffs. These rankings are the first step towards shaping the playoff picture, which will become much more clear with the LSU/Alabama and Penn State/Minnesota match-ups coming up this weekend.

The committee’s rankings are usually pretty bad so before their rankings come out, here is how I think the top 10 should look like:

Playoff Rankings Top 10

*These rankings are based on strength of schedule, level of dominance, and quality wins/losses*

The Playoff Teams

1. Ohio State

The Buckeyes have been extremely dominant this season, winning every game by at least 24 points. They have wiped out every team they’ve faced so far by playing at a very high level on both sides of the ball. Ohio State currently ranks 6th in total offense and 2nd in total defense, which, if you didn’t know, is insane. They also have three quality wins over Cincinnati, Michigan State, and Wisconsin. If Ohio State wins out with its tough schedule, which includes games against Penn State and Michigan, then it’d be hard to see them ranked outside of the top 2. Oh, and I can’t forget they have the best player in the country in Chase Young.

2. LSU

LSU has surprised me this season. They implemented a new spread offense, which includes a heavy dose of RPOs, and currently have the 2nd passing offense in the country. Joe Burrow looks like a different quarterback this year and might end up being the Heisman and a first-round pick. So far in his Heisman campaign, Burrow has led the Tigers to wins over Texas, Florida, and Auburn. LSU has an extremely impressive resume, but they fall short of the #1 spot due to their defense and Ohio State’s level of dominance.

3. Alabama

The Crimson Tide not being #1 or #2 is a strange sight. Alabama isn’t worse this year it’s just difficult to put them over Ohio State or LSU who have been just as good if not better with a more difficult schedule. Alabama took a step back on defense this year, but they took about 3 steps forward on offense. They have so many weapons on offense it’s not even funny. Their receiving core is loaded with NFL talent and their offense is led by Heisman candidate Tua Taglovailoa. The Tide have the 9th ranked total offense and have used their offensive firepower to beat every team they’ve faced by at least 19 points. Their strength of schedule holds them back right now, but they play LSU and Auburn this season. Don’t sleep on the Alabama Crimson Tide.

4. Penn State

Penn State is quietly one of the best teams in the nation right now. Not a lot of people are talking about them and it’s probably because LSU, Ohio State, and Alabama are head and shoulders above everyone else. Penn State has a phenomenal defense (ranked #6 in the country) and a pretty good offense led by Sean Clifford and K.J Hamler. Clifford has been playing really well and would be a dark horse for the Heisman any other year that doesn’t include Joe Burrow, Justin Fields, and Tua Tagovailoa. The Nittany Lions have quality wins over Michigan, Iowa, and Michigan State. The reason Penn State is below Alabama even with a harder strength of schedule is they struggled against Pittsburgh and only beat Iowa (who’s now unranked) by 5. I’m really excited to see how Penn State looks against Minnesota this weekend.

First Two Out

5. Clemson

Clemson is very hard to rank. The Tigers are undefeated and have a top 5 offense and defense, however, their strength of schedule isn't good. The ACC is awful so Clemson has a cakewalk every game. They have been dominant in every game except for their nail biter vs North Carolina. I’ve been impressed with the Tigers’ performance in the last few weeks and I think they are more talented than my #6 team.

6. Oregon

Oregon continues to impress me and game after game I come out blown away by Justin Herbert and the Duck’s offense. They only have one really impressive win (vs. Washington) and they have a good loss. I like Georgia more than Oregon, but they lost to South Carolina which really hurts them. I like Oklahoma more than Oregon as well, but like Georgia, they have a bad loss to Kansas State.

On The Bubble

7. Georgia

8. Oklahoma

9. Utah

10. Baylor

This is how I think the top 10 should look when the rankings come out tonight. I tried to be as consistent as possible with how I ranked each team, but I can see some teams being moved around. I hope you enjoyed my rankings and be on the lookout our NFL Mock Draft 2.0 coming soon!