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Pete Fiutak

College Football Playoff Rankings: Think, Know, Believe On Second Top 25

College Football Playoff Rankings: What I think, know, and believe after the second version of the 2022 CFP Top 25 has been released


College Football Playoff Rankings: Think, Know, Believe November 8

Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

Sorry if this take sucks, it’s not my fault …

It doesn’t really know how to rank Notre Dame, either.

This week, on Kicking the Can Down the Road …

I think … Kansas State is the key team in the current round of rankings.

I know … (4) TCU, (17) Tulane, and (18) Texas have NOTHING else on their respective resumés other than a win over the Wildcats.

I believe … there’s a whole lot of eye-test guessing going on in this week’s version.

I think … everyone thinking (4) TCU is better and more deserving of the top 4 spot than (5) Tennessee or (6) Oregon is pretending to look smart and/or doesn’t want to get honked at by Horned Frog fans.

I know … again, TCU’s best win – according to the College Football Playoff rankings – was against (19) Kansas State. It’s other win over a currently ranked team was against … uhhhhhh … ummmm …

I believe … Tennessee and Oregon each have one loss. Tennessee and Oregon played (1) Georgia. TCU didn’t. There you go.

I think … TCU really is good, and it could absolutely go unbeaten: at Texas, at Baylor, Iowa State, Big 12 Championship.

I know … no way, no how, NO (bleep)ING CHANCE the College Football Playoff committee leaves out an unbeaten Power Five conference champion for anyone else no matter what.

I believe … TCU isn’t going undefeated. Those same people getting all mushy about the Horned Frogs right now will quickly pivot to stumping for 11-1 Tennessee to get in over a 12-1 Big 12 Champion TCU.

I think … until it goes a different direction, and unless there’s an obvious must-take team like 2018 12-0 Notre Dame, the College Football Playoff committee will put a 12-1 Power Five conference champion in the mini-tournament.

I know … that includes (10) Clemson. Yes, it does.

I believe … maybe that includes Clemson. If it goes 12-1, it’ll probably have at least three wins over teams that will finish in the final College Football Playoff top 25.

I think … my conspiracy theory is working that …

I know … the College Football Playoff committee doesn’t know the difference between (8) USC and (12) UCLA.

I believe … the College Football Playoff committee doesn’t get the Pac-12 Network and hasn’t seen an entire USC game.

I think … (7) LSU is going to be whale of a call if it wins out.

I know … it got trucked at home by (5) Tennessee and lost to (23) Florida State, but if the finishing kick is made up of a seven-game winning run of at Florida, Ole Miss, Alabama, at Arkansas, UAB (I know, but it’s a game against a likely bowl team), at Texas A&M, and in the SEC Championship against Georgia …

I believe … no way, no how, NO (bleep)ING CHANCE the College Football Playoff committee leaves out the SEC champion.

I think … it doesn’t leave out a two-loss SEC champion.

I know … no two-loss team has ever made it into the College Football Playoff.

I believe … it will be a hard sell to put two-loss LSU – SEC champion or not – in over an 11-1 Tennessee team that won 40-13 in Death Valley.


CFN 1-131 Rankings | Bowl Projections
What 12-Team Playoff Would Look Like
Path to the Playoff: Ranking the 20 teams still in the race


I think … (Team A) is 7-2, handed a top eight team its only loss, suffered a tough defeat in the final moment away from home against a team from Florida, and lost on the road in a good battle against a team in the national title hunt.

I know … LSU is 7-2, handed a top eight team its only loss, suffered a tough defeat in the final moment away from home against a team from Florida, and lost at home against a team in the national title hunt.

I believe … (13) Utah shouldn’t get quite the same love and respect (7) LSU is receiving – there isn’t a win over a team like (11) Ole Miss – but it didn’t get destroyed in its own ballpark by 27.

I think … I’m totally lost on (9) Alabama.

I know … it came within a knuckleball field goal and a pick play for a two-point conversion – both walk-off losses – of being the unquestioned 9-0 No. 1 team. I also know it came way too close to losing to Texas and Texas A&M, but …

I believe … as shaky as the Crimson Tide are, they’re playing for the national title if they could somehow get into the playoff – which they won’t.

I think … we’re close to getting Big Ten people talking about the Michigan-Ohio State loser the same way everyone is talking about one-loss Tennessee being in the College Football Playoff mix.

I know … the Michigan-Ohio State loser won’t have the resumé of Tennessee, if it goes 11-1.

I believe … we’re all sort of blowing off that 1) Tennessee needed overtime to get by Pitt, 2) Florida State beat LSU, 3) Alabama just isn’t that good, and 4) there’s a whole lot of love and respect being given to the SEC, just because.

I think … every year there’s one team I swear has compromising pictures of committee members watching other sports on a college football Saturday.

I know … this year, that team is (18) Texas, who has one win over a CFP ranked team – (19) Kansas State – lost to an Oklahoma State squad that has done NOTHING since, and lost to Texas Tech.

I believe … the committee watched Texas play Alabama, saw one quarter of the wipeout of an Oklahoma team that didn’t have QB Dillon Gabriel, and that’s about it.

I think … the College Football Playoff shouldn’t come down to the thoughts and beliefs of a panel of judges that don’t/can’t grasp the entirety of the 131-team puzzle and how it all fits.

I know … the committee’s sincerity in trying to do this right is beyond reproach.

I believe … this thing needs to be expanded already so there’s a way to win your way in.

I think … it’ll be four Power Five conference champions in the College Football Playoff.

I know … there’s going to be a November surprise that’s will screw everything up.

I believe … Georgia, Ohio State, Oregon, Tennessee.

I think … I know it’s all going to be okay.

I know … I believe it’s all going to be okay.

I believe … I think it’s all going to be okay.

Bowl and College Football Playoff projections  

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