College Football Playoff Top 25 Analysis: Oregon Too High, Florida State Too Low

Nov 29, 2014; Corvallis, OR, USA; Oregon Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) is congratulated by teammates after a touchdown against the Oregon State Beavers at Reser Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports

Why the Oregon Ducks are Too High at No.2

There’s been a lot of love given to the Oregon Ducks recently, and much of it is well-deserved, but let’s please take a step back for a minute and analyze this team’s resume.

The best that is being said about them is that they are dominating opponents to the point of earning a Top 2 spot. But since when should the eye test ever matter that much in college football, especially with this team, which simply goes out of its way to run up the score on opponents?

Honestly, Oregon should have to sell being in the Top 4 at this point, but the loud screaming of the Pac-12 through the years appears to have reached the ears of the Selection Committee and the pollsters. Here are some facts for you.

Compare this team to Ohio Sate, who is on the outside looking in. Oregon lost at home to Arizona. We already knew that. But what about their wins? So they beat Michigan State. Well, Ohio State beat Michigan State as well. They also beat UCLA. Ohio State beat Minnesota.

Then they both beat a bunch of 6, 7, and 8-win teams. However, Oregon gets to be No. 2 while Ohio State is No. 5. How? They honestly have similar wins, but the only difference is Oregon’s loss to Arizona vs. Ohio State’s loss to Virginia Tech. Still schedule strength overall favors Ohio State, which is why this could be a toss-up, not a three spot difference.

We’re not saying Ohio State should be ahead of Oregon. But we are saying that they should at best be No. 3 or No. 4, not No. 2. And they certainly don’t belong ahead of Florida State, which brings us to our next point on the next page.

Next: Florida State is Too Low at No. 4