Mandel’s Mailbag: CFP committee still loves Alabama. Philip Rivers is a red flag for NC State - The New York Times
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The SEC could see five teams in the CFP, including multiple teams with three losses. Jason Clark / Getty Images
Before 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, I wasn’t certain I’d even address the first College Football Playoff rankings in this week’s mailbag, especially since they’ll look completely different after we get seven Top 25 matchups this weekend (now including Ohio State-Oregon).
Then the schools started popping up on my screen at increasingly bizarre junctures, and I began having pretty much this exact reaction:
Note: Submitted questions have been edited for clarity and length.
Looking at these rankings. First question: “WHAT?” — Brian S.
I don’t even know where to start. Actually, I do. In 13 years of watching that absurd show, I don’t think I’ve ever been more shocked — to the point I laughed out loud — when Rece Davis said: “At No. 11 … Notre Dame.” It’s no great indignity. As Hunter Yurachek said, justifiably, “They lost the only Top 25 game they’ve played.” But you rarely see such a massive perception gap between AP voters, who have the Irish in the top five, and the committee, which doesn’t even have them in the top 10.
It really doesn’t matter, though. If they beat Miami on Saturday, they’ll probably jump at least five spots, and if they lose, they’re going to miss the Playoff. And this time it won’t be remotely controversial.
Ohio State at No. 12 was weirder to me, mostly because of how Yurachek explained the committee’s logic. It seemed they were less bothered by not having Julian Sayin than by the defense giving up big plays against USC. Which, OK, but they didn’t have that problem when they won on the road at Indiana, the committee’s No. 4 team. Regardless, if the Buckeyes win out, they’ll be in. If they lose again, then, clearly not. And I don’t think…
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