I’m surprised…. yet I’m not surprised. OU being 7th would have been more balanced though because Michigan does not have a Top 25 win and just lost one of its two rivalry games by blowing a lead to Michigan State.
Cincy at No. 6 doesn’t bother me because they have a better best win than OU with the Notre Dame win.
OU’s best win of the season to date is versus a swooning 4-4 Texas team which will be joining the SEC under the guise of being a current elite football program.
No. 5 Ohio State like Michigan does not have a Top 25 win since Penn State did not make any other polls this week.
I would say if any conference was given preferrential treatment it was the Big 10. As a conference what is the Big 10’s best nonconference win?
I would say probably Penn State’s home win over Auburn back in Week 3. But since that win the Nittany Lions have ‘almost’ tanked deeper than the feeble NBA entity known as the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Oregon at No. 4 doesn’t bother me because they have the best win of any team with a road win over the Buckeyes in Columbus.
Ohio State like Michigan hasn’t done all that much either.
In fact I would say O State, Baylor, and Auburn all have better resumes than Ohio State and Michigan to date. The manner in which Ohio State and Michigan were coddled by the Committee does grate at me though.
Alabama being ranked No. 2 doesn’t bother me as much because to stay in the Final Four they will need to beat Auburn on the road, plus beat Georgia in SEC Championship Game.. Surely the Committee wouldn’t put a two loss ‘Bama in the Playoff. If the Committee puts a two loss Bama in the playoff that might elicit a different reaction from me.
But again…why in the world would two underacheivers this season like Ohio State and Michigan be given preferrential treatment?
It’s vexing for certain. I might send Kirk a terse email. I hope ESPN didn’t meddle in all of this. Answer me this, Kirk…combined what is the best win for Ohio State and Michigan? The answer again is Penn State. Three teams from that conference in the Top 7…are you kidding me?
It was the same mindset in the most recent NCAA Basketball Tournament seeding bracket. Not one Big Ten team advanced to the Final Four. Not one as I recall even though Illinois, Michigan, Ohio State, and Iowa were all given either No. 1 or No. 2 seeds in different regionals. Only Michigan made it to an Elite 8 game. Again…are you kidding me?
It appears to me the Big 10 lobby is every bit or more than that of the SEC given none of their teams have won anything for awhile yet are given this type of treatment.
I had Georgia No. 1 and Michigan State No. 2 so I’m pretty much there with the Committee on those two teams.
O State, Baylor, and Auburn are pretty much where I had them as well. Same with Notre Dame and Wake Forest for the most part.
So…is OU still in the hunt sitting in the No. 8 position?
I would say definitely because OU regardless of the poll needs to win its last three games against Baylor, Iowa State, and O State–then win the Big 12 Championship Game.
If OU runs that gauntlet and stands 13-0 then I would think the Sooners are in the national semifinals.
Maybe this No. 8 ranking will light a fire under the Sooners’ collective football souls with the message…’Play All Sixty Minutes’.
Possibly this message from someone other than Lincoln Riley or Alex Grinch will tell these Sooners how they’ve been nationally perceived to date. The perception is the team is soft with the exception of Caleb Williams coming out of the bullpen to save the Sooners’ season to date.
Here…I’ll help the Sooners decipher the message even deeper… you were just sent a message from the Committee: Your goals are still intact. You might be a good football team. Show us why you should be in the College Football Football Playoff beyond Caleb Williams.
College Football Op-Ed by MJ