The second College Football Playoff rankings of 2022 will come out Tuesday night, November 8th. How should the committee put together the top 25?
The College Football Playoff committee didn’t do a horrible job with the first round of rankings.
There might have been a misfire when it came to the Pac-12 teams – USC was too high, UCLA too low – and there are a few other minor tweaks, but putting Tennessee No. 1 was the right move at the time, and it all was relatively fine from there.
Remember, the College Football Playoff rankings are a snapshot of the moment until the final batch. The committee goes through each spot pick by pick debating the merits of all the teams available, and in the end the top 25 was at least thought out, even if it doesn’t always seem right.
And then it’s all wiped away and everything starts from scratch the next week.
Since the committee obviously doesn’t have the Pac-12 Network and hasn’t actually watched USC’s defense or most of the late night games – I’m joking, of course … sort of – I’ll give everyone a little bit of help.
Go here for what we expect the next round of rankings to be. Here’s how the College Football Playoff committee should put together the top 25.
College Football Playoff Rankings: How The Top 25 Should Be Done, November 8
College Football Playoff: Helping The Committee With The Top 25
Top 4 | 6-10 | 11-15 | 16-20 | 21-25
Bowl Projections | CFN Rankings 1-131 | Rankings by Conference
AP Poll | Coaches Poll | Predicting CFP Top 25
Bowl Bubble: Bowl eligible teams, who needs a win?
Ranking the 12 teams realistically in the CFP hunt
25. UCF Knights (7-2)
College Football Playoff Ranking, Week 1: 25
The Case For This Spot: The 41-19 win over SMU looks better and better, the win over Cincinnati was great, and getting by Memphis on the road offsets an ugly 34-13 loss to East Carolina a little bit. Don’t worry about this ranking. Beat Tulane this week, go on to win the AAC championship, get a spot in a New Year’s Six bowl.
Win That Matters: UCF 25, Cincinnati 21
Loss (or bad performance) That Matters: East Carolina 34, UCF 13
Up Next: at Tulane
24. Liberty Flames (8-1)
College Football Playoff Ranking, Week 1: Not Ranked
The Case For This Spot: This will be interesting. How much credit does Liberty get for beating Arkansas? Heck, Texas A&M did that, too. The 37-36 loss to Wake Forest is good, and the 41-14 win over BYU is great, but there’s a TON of fluff on the slate to get up to eight wins.
Win That Matters: Liberty 21, Arkansas 19
Loss (or bad performance) That Matters: Liberty 21, Gardner-Webb 20
Up Next: at UConn
23. Kansas State Wildcats (6-3)
College Football Playoff Ranking, Week 1: 13
The Case For This Spot: The committee putting Kansas State six spots ahead of Tulane – the Green Wave won 17-10 in Manhattan – was sort of wrong, but that will be changed this week. Losing at TCU isn’t bad, and dropping a date to Texas is okay. Blowouts over Missouri and Oklahoma State are enough to keep the Wildcats from falling too far, but they shouldn’t be in the top 20.
Win That Matters: Kansas State 48, Oklahoma State 0
Loss (or bad performance) That Matters: Tulane 17, Kansas State 10
Up Next: at Baylor
22. Texas Longhorns (6-3)
College Football Playoff Ranking, Week 1: 24
The Case For This Spot: Basically, the College Football Playoff committee watched the Alabama game, saw Texas beat Oklahoma 49-0, and it seems like it didn’t notice much else. The Oklahoma State loss a few weeks ago now looks really, really rough, and losing to Texas Tech isn’t okay. However, beating Kansas State should be enough to bump up closer to the top 20. Beat TCU this week, and Texas will prove to be as good as the CFP thinks it is.
Win That Matters: Texas 34, Kansas State 27
Loss (or bad performance) That Matters: Texas Tech 37, Texas 34
Up Next: TCU
21. Washington Huskies (7-2)
College Football Playoff Ranking, Week 1: Not Ranked
The Case For This Spot: Since the committee proved last week that it doesn’t watch the Pac-12, it might miss that the Huskies have been very, very shaky. However, the win over Oregon State – then ranked 23rd in the CFP – was a good one, losing at UCLA was fine, and beating Michigan State is okay. The loss to Arizona State hurts, but beat Oregon this week, and the ranking shoots up.
Win That Matters: Washington 39, Michigan State 28
Loss (or bad performance) That Matters: Arizona State 45, Washington 38
Up Next: at Oregon
College Football Playoff: Helping The Committee With The Top 25
Top 4 | 6-10 | 11-15 | 16-20 | 21-25
Bowl Projections | CFN Rankings 1-131 | Rankings by Conference
AP Poll | Coaches Poll | Predicting CFP Top 25
Bowl Bubble: Bowl eligible teams, who needs a win?
Ranking the 12 teams realistically in the CFP hunt
