The Big Lead

College Football Playoff Committee explains rankings of bubble teams

By Max Weisman

The committee favored Alabama over Ole Miss, Miami and South Carolina
The committee favored Alabama over Ole Miss, Miami and South Carolina / Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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The College Football Playoff Committee released its second to last rankings of the year Tuesday night, and it stirred up some controversy. Ahead of the release, fans were curious to see where the committee would rank bubble teams Alabama, Miami, Ole Miss and South Carolina. Because not all of the teams ranked in the top 12 will be playing in conference championship games on Saturday, the team that the committee ranked highest out of the bubble teams will likely remain there next weekend when the final rankings are released.

Alabama was ranked 11th, Miami 12th, Ole Miss 13th and South Carolina 14th. Because the highest-ranked Big 12 team was ranked 15th, Miami became the first team out, and it will likely remain that way. Here's what the bracket looks like ahead of conference championships.

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Committee chair Warde Manuel explained the committee's rankings of bubble teams on ESPN after the rankings were released.

"Alabama is 3-1 against current top-25 teams, and Miami is 0-1," Manuel said. "Alabama is 6-1 against teams above .500, and Miami is 4-2. Both have had some losses that weren't what they wanted out of those games, but in the last three games, Miami has lost twice."

It seems the only way Alabama might miss the playoff is if Clemson beats SMU in the ACC Championship. If Clemson wins, the Tigers get an automatic bid to the playoff, which would mean SMU slips in the rankings, and would be in a fight with Alabama for the last spot. On ESPN, Manuel said that SMU could potentially drop below Alabama with a loss to Clemson on Saturday.

That caused a stir among fans. If SMU wasn't playing in the ACC Championship and was ranked No. 8 in the country, they'd be in the playoff. However, if they lose they might slip out of the playoff. In that case, playing for a conference championship is more dangerous than not playing in it at all. The committee shouldn't take an extra game loss into account when making its rankings. Of course, SMU can make this a moot point by beating Clemson on Saturday.

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