The College Football Playoff Committee wasted no time introducing some controversy with its initial rankings, one that many Georgia and Ohio State fans will remember.
The first College Football Playoff Rankings were released on Tuesday and to no one's surprise, the undefeated Oregon Ducks came in at No. 1. However, what might have been a little eyebrow-raising for fans is the order of teams that would come in the rankings next, particularly at No. 2 and No. 3.
Though the AP voters still had the Georgia Bulldogs ranked No. 2 in the country, the College Football Playoff Committee felt Ohio State was deserving of that second spot. When asked about the decision to rank Ohio State over Georgia in its first ranking, here's what the committee had to say:
"Well, both are solid teams, as you know. Ohio State's one loss on the road was against the No. 1 team, and they lost by one. They had an impressive win this past weekend at Penn State, and they have been very consistent. Top-5 defense. They have had changes on the offensive line but still performed, as you know, and Will Howard and Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson, those three have really moved the offense," Warde Manuel shared.
Manuel would go on to say that, in short, the real reason that Ohio State is ahead of Georgia is because the Buckeyes have a better loss than the Bulldogs.
"So for us, it was the consistency. Georgia, very good team, great win against Texas, a win over Clemson. Consistency in terms of their offense. They've had some inconsistencies there, but they have great defense, and they're allowing only 17 points per game. It was a close analysis, but in the end we just felt that Ohio State was a more consistent performer at this point in time, and their loss to the No. 1 -- their only loss is to No. 1 Oregon, and that's how the committee came out with the decision."
This isn't the first time that the committee has used "quality loss" as a indicator for its rankings, but this seems to be taking it to a new level.
Georgia has a better win than Ohio State — No. 5 Texas — and the Bulldogs also have a win over No. 23 Clemson. Ohio State, on the other hand, only has one ranked win, and that happened this past weekend against Penn State, a team that is ranked No. 6 in the country by the committee. You would think that the bar they would use would be related to quality wins, but it seems that this committee is busy comparing quality losses.
They also point to "consistency" for a reason for Ohio State to be ranked ahead of Georgia, but they ignore that Ohio State barely eeked out a win over Nebraska at home two weeks ago.
So, what does this mean for your team moving forward?
Don't be surprised if the factor that the committee uses to measure teams with the same record — especially once we get to the end of the season — is quality losses. If you have a loss, but it's to a better opponent, you're likely to find yourself in better standing with the committee. That is, unless you're Notre Dame and your loss to Northern Illinois is forgiven and forgotten as if it never happened.