And the final rankings are: Georgia #1, Michigan #2, TCU #3 and Ohio State #4. That is the way it should be because those 4 teams have the best won-loss record in the rankings. The CFP ranking committee made the right judgement because it is so elementary. Unfortunately, in this writer's opinion, they erred in the #5 ranking with Alabama and the #6 ranking with Tennessee.
Tennessee should have been ranked higher than Alabama because they defeated Bama during the regular season and played 3 of the top 4 teams in the SEC. They beat two, LSU and Alabama and lost to Georgia. Alabama played two of the top 4 teams losing both games to LSU and Tennessee. Both Alabama and Tennessee had an overall winning record of 10-2. LSU and Alabama finished tied in the SEC west with a 6-2 record but LSU won the West because they beat Alabama during the regular season. The SEC understands how important that factor plays out, but the CFP ranking committee does not.
Tulane finished ranked 16th and LSU 17th. Tulane will go to the Cotton Bowl and LSU will go to the Citrus Bowl. The final rankings will not please everyone and the committee's criteria for ranking is still flawed, but this writer thinks the rankings of the top 4 teams speaks loud and clear.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
