With just two weeks to go before it announces its 4-team playoff field, the College Football Playoff (CFP) Selection Committee is underrating teams from the two strongest conferences — the Southeastern and Pac-12 — and overrating those from the other three major conferences—the Big 12, Big Ten, and ACC — according to the Anderson & Hester Computer Rankings. Fortunately, this trend is not evident among the top-4, where the rankings matter most.
The CFP Selection Committee’s top four teams are the same as the top four teams in the Anderson & Hester Rankings, although the order is different. The top-4 in the Anderson & Hester Computer Rankings — which reflect which teams have posted the best win-loss record to date considering their schedules — is #1 (11-0) Florida State, #2 (10-1) Alabama, #3 (10-1) Oregon, and #4 (10-1) Mississippi State. The next three are #5 (10-1) Ohio State, #6 (9-2) UCLA, and #7 (9-1) TCU. The top-4 in the CFP Rankings are #1 (10-1) Alabama, #2 (10-1) Oregon, #3 (11-0) Florida State, and #4 (10-1) Mississippi State. The next three are #5 (9-1) TCU, #6 (10-1) Ohio State, and #7 (9-1) Baylor. (UCLA is #8 in the CFP Rankings; Baylor is #10 in the Anderson & Hester Rankings.)
Alabama is the only SEC team that’s ranked higher in the CFP Rankings than in the Anderson & Hester Rankings. Auburn, Missouri, and Ole Miss are all ranked at least three spots lower in the CFP Rankings, and Texas A&M (ranked #25 in the Anderson & Hester Rankings) isn’t ranked by the committee. Oregon is the only Pac-12 team that’s ranked higher in the CFP Rankings than in the Anderson & Hester Rankings. UCLA, Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah are all ranked at least two spots lower in the CFP Rankings, and USC (ranked #22 in the A&H Rankings) isn’t ranked by the committee.
Meanwhile, every Big Ten team except for Ohio State is ranked at least four spots higher in the CFP Rankings than in the Anderson & Hester Rankings. Every ACC team except for Florida State is ranked at least three spots higher in the CFP Rankings than in the Anderson & Hester Rankings. And every Big 12 team except for Oklahoma (#20 in both rankings) is ranked at least two spots higher in the CFP Rankings than in the Anderson & Hester Rankings.
Jeff Anderson is co-creator of the Anderson & Hester Computer Rankings, which were part of the BCS throughout its 16-year run, and are now published by the Dallas Morning News.
