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Let the debate begin.
The first College Football Playoff rankings were released on Tuesday night, setting the stage for the final month of the season. Six B1G teams found their names in the top 25:
- No. 1: Ohio State
- No. 4: Penn State
- No. 13: Wisconsin
- No. 14: Michigan
- No. 17: Minnesota
- No. 18: Iowa
There were plenty of talking points and conversation starters following the show. I’ve put together my five B1G takeaways from the initial release of the College Football Playoff rankings:
Minnesota got no respect
The expectation was for Minnesota to be ranked low, but No. 17 with a perfect 8-0 record is unreasonably low.
Look, I understand that the Gophers’ schedule hasn’t been very good thus far, and that’s why this team shouldn’t be hovering around the top five solely because of its record. But having two-loss teams ahead of undefeated teams in Power Five football just doesn’t sit right with me. At some point, the losses have to matter, right?
Also, Minnesota was ranked four spots behind No. 13 Wisconsin (6-2). The Badgers lost to Illinois, while the Gophers defeated the Illini. Just wanted to point that out, too.
If Minnesota loses to Penn State on Saturday, feel free to drop it down into the 20s. Rip their schedule to shreds and the fact that the Gophers had a shot to beat a big boy and failed. I’m good with that. But Minnesota should’ve gotten a little more respect for getting this far.
Resumé and eye test worked in Ohio State’s favor
Everyone wondered whether it would be Ohio State’s dominance or LSU’s schedule that would be the determining factor in that No. 1 overall spot. It came down to the Buckeyes’ combination of signature wins — Cincinnati, Wisconsin and Indiana — as well as winning every game on the schedule by 24 points or more.
LSU probably has the better wins on the resumé right now, notching victories over Texas and Auburn, but the Tigers struggled in those two games more so than Ohio State has all season.
Committee chair Rob Mullens pointed to Ohio State’s offensive explosiveness, defensive dominance and consistent performance as reasons behind the No. 1 spot.
There’s a very real chance for the B1G to get two teams in
All the talk has been about how the SEC should get two teams in the field this year. And while that’s still very much in play with three teams in the top five and five teams in the top 11 spots, there’s a good chance that with Ohio State and Penn State both in the top four, the conference could receive two bids.
Penn State travels to Ohio State on Nov. 23, setting up a marquee showdown. If the loser of that game wins out and it’s a close contest in Columbus, there could be some serious chatter about the B1G getting two bids.
Obviously, a lot would have to go right and situations would have to play out perfectly. But this is the best position the B1G has been in to get multiple teams in the field. There’s still a lot of football left, though. We’ll see what happens.
Wisconsin and Iowa are helping the B1G’s argument this year
Having Wisconsin (No. 13) and Iowa (No. 18) inside the top 20 of the rankings is beneficial for the three teams that still have a shot to reach the College Football Playoff — Ohio State, Penn State and Minnesota.
Ohio State defeated Wisconsin and Penn State knocked off Iowa. Minnesota will play both of those teams in the final four weeks of the season. There’s a chance for the Gophers to add some additional marquee wins to the resumé, while the Buckeye and Nittany Lions already have those notches on the belt.
It would also be pretty interesting to see how high the Badgers and Hawkeyes could climb, if one were to win out and reach the B1G Championship Game at the end of the year. Could it be Penn State 2016 all over again?
And then there’s Michigan, quietly at No. 14
This is interesting to me, because Michigan feels like the forgotten one of the B1G. It has no real chance to win the B1G or compete for a spot in the College Football Playoff, barring some sort of mass chaos at the end of the year.
With Michigan State, Indiana and Ohio State left on the schedule to close out the year, and sitting at 7-2, It would be interesting to see what the committee thinks of Michigan if it were to somehow muster some big wins down the stretch.
Much like Wisconsin and Iowa, though, that high ranking really benefits Penn State and Ohio State most. If the Wolverines get to 9-2 heading into the season finale against Ohio State, the Buckeyes will have a chance at another top 10 win.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB