The college football season is in full swing and the initial College Football Playoff rankings were recently released. While the top four teams in the rankings were expected to be the same teams that made the final playoff field, that was not the case.
The initial rankings saw LSU, Ohio State, Alabama, and Penn State as the top four teams. However, when the final playoff field was announced, Clemson had jumped up to the number three spot, pushing Penn State down to number five. This was the first time in the history of the College Football Playoff that the initial rankings did not match the final playoff field.
So why did this happen? It all comes down to the strength of schedule. Clemson had a much tougher schedule than Penn State and it showed in the rankings. Clemson had wins over Texas A&M, Syracuse, and Florida State, while Penn State had wins over Buffalo, Maryland, and Purdue. The committee felt that Clemson’s wins were more impressive and thus gave them the nod over Penn State.
This is an important lesson for teams in the future. Strength of schedule matters when it comes to making the College Football Playoff. Teams should strive to play tougher opponents in order to give themselves a better chance of making the playoff field.
It will be interesting to see if this trend continues in future years. Will teams continue to focus on strength of schedule or will they go back to relying on wins and losses? Only time will tell. But one thing is for sure, the initial College Football Playoff rankings did not match the final playoff field this year and it could be a sign of things to come.
