College Football Playoff Committee Ranking Fresno 25th May Be a Bad Sign for Ohio State
By Jason McIntyre
Try and follow me here: In the ongoing Alabama vs Ohio State debate, it’s clear that Ohio State has the better resume. Alabama’s best win is LSU (17); after that, it’s a win over Mississippi State (23). That’s it.
Ohio State has wins over two higher-ranked teams, Penn State (9) and Michigan State (16), and the Buckeyes need to beat Wisconsin in the Big 10 Title game.
But the committee did something super shady Tuesday night: It ranked Fresno State, 9-3, as the 25th best team in the country. Nobody’s picked up on it because it’s just Fresno State and nobody cares. Well, except for the fact that Alabama played Fresno State. The Tide predictably rolled in the September game, 41-10.
How are the Bulldogs ranked? The better question may be why. On no planet does Fresno State deserve to be there; it got stomped by Washington and lost to 5-7 UNLV. Its best wins are against San Diego State and Boise State.
Just a handful of teams more deserving: South Florida (9-2 with two losses to teams with winning records); Michigan (8-4, with four losses to teams currently in the Top 20); Louisville (8-4, losses to four bowl eligible teams, four wins over bowl eligible teams); South Carolina (8-4, win over #24 NC State, losses to Clemson and Georgia, but not in blowouts like Fresno).
Michigan is the most interesting. Ohio State has a victory over Michigan. If the Wolverines would have been 25th, it could have been viewed as a “point” for Ohio State in the debate with Alabama.
But Fresno State? Fresno State is 51st in these power rankings, between Indiana and Minnesota in the Big Ten, two teams that went 5-7 in the Big Ten. Suddenly, the Fresno State vs Boise State rematch carries weight. At least in Alabama. Because that’s the only way the Tide can improve their resume.