The first and second College Football Playoff rankings have been released. The top four, after two weeks, have not changed, as Ohio State, Georgia, Michigan and Florida State are all leading the pack.
There is some debate over who should be No. 1. The main reason for OSU to be ranked No. 1 is their resume. So far, they have beaten Notre Dame, who was ranked No. 9 in the AP poll at the time, in Notre Dame Stadium. They also beat Penn State, who was ranked No. 7 in the AP poll at the time. Currently, Notre Dame is ranked No. 20, and Penn State has recently fallen to No. 10.
Georgia’s resume is not quite as impressive, with their best win coming against No. 12 Missouri. Their next best win is against Kentucky, who is no longer ranked.
Michigan is ranked third. While they have steamrolled most of the opponents they have played so far, their biggest tests, PSU and OSU, come towards the end of their schedule.
FSU stays solid at No. 4 after remaining undefeated. With Washington being one of the only other serious contenders for the top four, the Seminoles’ strength of schedule is likely what gives them the edge right now. FSU has a chance to clinch a spot in the ACC Championship Game with a win over Miami.
Overall, the new rankings remain fairly consistent with the first release. Other than Oklahoma’s loss to Kansas, there were not many other teams that would have strayed away from their AP poll spot because there have not been any real shake-ups recently.
If the season were to end today, the semifinal matchups would be No. 1 OSU vs. No. 4 FSU and No. 2 Georgia vs. No. 3 Michigan.
Even though these teams are looking very strong this season, there are also several one-loss teams that are looking to get a spot in the playoffs. Now ranked No. 8, the Alabama Crimson Tide, who are getting better by the week, handled Louisiana State pretty well, and they are trying to make a run for the SEC Championship; a win would help their chances of securing a spot in the playoffs.
The one team that Alabama has lost to, Texas, also needs to win out in order to make the playoff. The Longhorns were given their first loss of the year by Oklahoma, losing in a shootout.
“I don’t understand why Ohio State is ranked at one,” said TJ Murphy, a senior economics major. “I see that they have two wins against ranked teams but have underperformed all year against not as good teams.”
“I think that the rankings are fair so far,” said Tony Kouloukas, a junior management information systems, or MIS, major. “I think, when you look at it from the perspective that Ohio State has two top-10 wins, it is pretty easy to put them at one, even if they have looked a little bit slower against weaker teams.”
Even though the 2023 college football season is nearing its end, there is still plenty of football left to be played. OSU and Georgia still need to win out, and Michigan has their biggest test of the year coming up in the next few weeks. As they say, in college football, anything can happen.
