The first edition of the College Football Playoff Rankings for the 2022 season was released Tuesday night, and for the first time since the birth of this current format, Tennessee was named the top team in the country. The Volunteers, currently 8-0 and a win over No. 6 Alabama under their belts, are now staring at Saturday’s crucial meeting with No. 3 Georgia in the SEC on CBS’ Game of the Week at 3:30 p.m. ET .
However, both the Vols and Bulldogs were expected to finish in the top four. At Tuesday’s release, most of the intrigue focused on the positioning of three other undefeated teams: Michigan, Clemson and TCU. Well, the Tigers and Wolverines mixed in at No. 4 and 5, respectively, while the Horned Frogs – controversial for some – trailed behind the Crimson Tide in No. 7.
So who is overrated and who is underrated in the first edition of the CFP ranking? Let’s have a look.
Overrated: Clemson
Establishing the Tigers’ identity this season has been difficult. In a game they look like world champions. Next, they look like pretenders. Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei has improved a lot from last year, but is far from the superstar he was billed as when he left high school. In fact, Uiagalelei was benched in favor of announced newcomer Cade Klubnik the last time we saw the Tigers.
They have victories over No. 20 Syracuse, No. 21 Wake Forest, and No. 22 NC State, which is nice but not particularly notable. The off-conference schedule so far has been Furman and Louisiana Tech, which doesn’t do much to bolster the Tigers’ case. Clemson finished in the top four due to his track record in the CFP era. In reality, it’s impossible to trust this team through the eight-game sample.
Underestimated: Michigan
What’s the knock against Michigan? The easy schedule that includes out-of-conference wins over Colorado State, Hawaii and UConn? OK, but it rolled through this board relatively easily. It’s important that teams don’t downplay their competition, and the only one-score game the Wolverines played was the 34-27 win over Maryland on Sept. 24. Oh, and it has a much better win than Clemson too. The Wolverines dominated No. 15 Penn State 41-17 on Oct. 15, which is far more impressive than anything Clemson has done.
In the end it won’t matter. Michigan has games against No. 15 Illinois and No. 2 Ohio State to finish out the regular season, which will really tell the story of how good Jim Harbaugh’s team really is.
Overrated: LSU
I have nothing but love for the Tigers and the job Coach Brian Kelly did at the helm in Year 1 but they shouldn’t be the top ranked team with two losses at this point. The committee loves to rant about how complete teams are, and LSU is a long way from being mentioned in that discussion. The special teams were atrocious and were the main reason the Tigers lost to Florida State in Week 1. The passing attack is still on form, but quarterback Jayden Daniels needs to show he can shine the stat through the air a little more before this offense can be trusted.
The Tigers’ signature win is the 45-20 win over No. 11 Ole Miss. Don’t get me wrong, coming back from a 17-3 deficit to dominate the Rebels was impressive, but that’s about it , on which the LSU can hang his hat.
The college football world seemingly wrote off the Tar Heels in Week 1 when they gave up 40 points to Appalachian State in the fourth quarter and still found a way to win. That’s totally unfair. They’ve scored 35 or more points in seven of their eight games, and coach Mack Brown has made first-year quarterback Drake Maye a legitimate contender for the Heisman Trophy.
The 45-32 loss to Notre Dame on September 24 is the only blemish, and while that’s not ideal, it’s not like I’m committed to the Tar Heels becoming a top 10 team. However, No. 17 is too low for a one-loss Power Five team that dictates its style to its opponent virtually every week.
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Exactly right: TCU
I had TCU ranked #7 on my CBS Sports 131 ballot, and that’s where the committee ranked the Horned Frogs as well. Yes, they have wins over No. 13 Kansas State and No. 18 Oklahoma State, while No. 6 Alabama wins over No. 24 Texas in Week 2. One could argue that the best point on Alabama’s resume was his three-point, last-second loss to leaders Tennessee.
That’s fine, but TCU dug huge holes against the Wildcats and Cowboys, which isn’t a way to live — at least not for championship-caliber teams. “Game control” is something the committee will look into, and TCU’s game control has been shaky at best for the past three weeks.
“We’re looking for a balanced team, offensively and defensively, and [TCU] has fallen behind in some games,” said CFP selection committee chairman Boo Corrigan. “They could come back and win those games. But if you look at Alabama — in the wins against Mississippi State, in Arkansas, in Texas, and of course the three-point loss in Tennessee — we as a committee decided to be No. 6 Alabama and No. 7 TCU.
In the end it doesn’t matter. If the TCU is leading the table, she comes in.