The penultimate edition of 2022 College Football Playoff Rankings was released on Tuesday, and the intrigue for the conference championship weekend is in full swing as multiple teams vie for the last spot in a four-team field.
Georgia held onto their No. 1 spot, Michigan surged to No. 2 after defeating Ohio State last weekend, and TCU finished the regular season 12-0 for No. 3. One loss puts him in fourth place at USC, but the Pac-12 Championship Trojans are in a perilous position knowing he can’t go wrong in a game. If USC falls to No. 11 Utah, either No. 5 Buckeyes or Alabama No. 6 will jump out.
Between now and Selection Sunday, the conversation will heat up.
Let’s see who is overrated and underrated in the penultimate edition of the rankings.
Why does Tennessee rank below Alabama’s 6th place? Is it because of an ugly loss to No. 19 South Carolina? This looks much better now than he did two weeks ago when the world thought South Carolina was her SEC East team in the middle with no advantage. Conversely, Alabama’s loss to his 14th-ranked LSU looks even worse after the Tigers lost to Texas A&M last weekend.
Oh, and there’s a nasty little one-on-one matchup on October 15th when the Volunteers outscore the Crimson Tide 52-49. That should be a problem, but apparently it isn’t. why? Is it because Star Volunteers quarterback Hendon Hooker against South Carolina he tore his ACL and Joe Milton is in charge?It’s being considered by the committee but not enough to convince me .
Tennessee had a win over Alabama and a road win over LSU. What are Alabama’s signature wins? Week 2 victory over No. 20 Texas? Home win over No. 24 Mississippi in late October? Tennessee is unfairly punished because it is not a traditional force. If the turmoil continued, he deserved to line up for the CFP spot, and at the very least, he proved worthy of the SEC’s Sugar Bowl spot if left out.
Overrated: No. 14 LSU
LSU’s analysis is incorporated into the Tennessee and Alabama analyzes above, but it’s not a big deal. After last weekend’s debacle in College Station, Texas, the Tigers will never be ranked his #14. They said he didn’t score more than 31 points against any opponent this year, was devastated by injury and looked unmotivated by the end of a six-game losing streak to an Aggies side that he went 38-23. I lost. If Texas A&M can fire up his LSU defense, what will No. 15 Oregon State, No. 16 Oregon State, or No. 17 UCLA do?
Having a nine-win regular season in Coach Brian Kelly’s first year was a tremendous achievement, and one few people expected outside of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, would see such a result. However, they struggled against Arkansas and lost to Texas A&M when they had a bigger target on their backs. It’s important.
There seems to be a cliché reaction to assuming that all Pac-12 teams are overrated and do not deserve national recognition. His 12th ranking in Washington proves it. The Huskies are the nation’s top passer in Michael Penix Jr., top 10 receiver in Rome Odunze, top 5 scoring offense (he has 40.8 points per game), and yards per play he has 2 in the Pac-12. Second best defense (5.52).
Losing to No. 17 UCLA is understandable, but the next week’s loss to Arizona State is holding them back. But Utah is one rank behind Washington and he has three losses, one of which he lost to a Florida team, 6-6. Kansas State has three pretty solid losses (No. 18 Tulane, No. 3 TCU, and No. 20 Texas), but he still has three losses. It can even be argued that Washington’s résumé, winning over No. 15 Oregon and his No. 16 Oregon, is more impressive than Clemson’s signature winning over No. 13 Florida.
Washington deserves to be in the top 10.
