The month of November brings many things in the world of college sports. College football, the start of college basketball begins, and then, of course, we get the College Football Playoff rankings every Tuesday night.
There have been plenty of head-scratching moments from the playoff committee on a weekly basis, so I thought it would be fun to share my three thoughts on this week’s playoff rankings.
Three Big 12 Teams Make The Top 13
For the second week in a row, we have three teams from the Big 12 in the Top 13. Texas Tech got bumped up to No. 6 after taking down BYU, while the Cougar fell to No. 12 after losing to the Red Raiders. Meanwhile, Utah remains on the outside looking in at No. 13. While it is great to have three teams in the Top 15, the path to get three teams now seems farfetched. Even two teams getting in at the moment may be tough considering the road to get there.
Ideally, BYU winning out and being 12-0 would have been ideal for the conference and then having someone like Tech knocking them off in the Big 12 title game would have nearly guaranteed two teams getting in. Now the best thing in the Big 12 may be Tech winning out and having Utah sneak in if they can win out. Either way, the path for two Big 12 teams got more difficult after this weekend.
Welcome, Cincinnati
After being gone for the first playoff ranking, Cincinnati made the cut on Tuesday night. Previously, the Bearcats were in the AP Top 25, which means next to nothing right about now. However, seeing a two-loss Big 12 team in the top 25 is a big deal especially after they got beaten badly by Utah two weeks ago.
The big question is, how long can they remain in the rankings? The Bearcats have three games left against Arizona, BYU, and TCU which is about as tough as they come. If they can win out, then they will end up in the Big 12 title game but with that schedule, it won’t be easy at all.
Cincinnati has a huge game this weekend against the Wildcats with kick off at 11:00 a.m. You can check out the line here and bet on college football with plenty of action this weekend.
No Resume Teams
Last week, I talked about Tennessee having no business being in the Top 25 with their 6-3 record. Again, they have played three ranked teams and haven’t beaten a single one of them. On paper, their best win is against a five-loss Mississippi State team.
Meanwhile, why is Iowa and Pitt ranked? The Hawkeyes have lost three games, and their best win is against an average Minnesota team, and they haven’t beaten a ranked team in four years. Why in the hell are they still in the Top 25?
Finally, we have Pitt. While the Panthers are 7-2, much like the other two teams on this list, they have beat absolutely nobody. OK, Pitt beat Virginia in Week 2, but how good does that look right now after they lost to Wake Forest last weekend? I am convinced that the only reason that Pitt is still ranked is because Notre Dame needs another Top 25 win on their resume to get into the Playoff.
