This is why the College Football Playoff committee’s weekly rankings should be perpetually written in Comic Sans. This is why the outrage that spills out of people’s Twitter fingers every Tuesday night would be better spent on literally anything else.
For all the focus on the 13 people who waste their time every week flying to Dallas to spend two days at an overpriced resort debating strength of schedule numbers, college football isn’t about them. It’s about who performs week in and week out over the course of three-plus months. And as usual, the season will sort itself out right on time.
The process of separating the true contenders from the rest of the pack always happens in November. And look what we’ve learned already.
Wake Forest? Enjoy a New Year’s Six bowl — if you can get there as the ACC champion.
Baylor? You’re a spoiler and nothing more.
Michigan State? You’re still in it technically, but the mask is coming off.
Cincinnati? You’re still unbeaten, but you’re not making it difficult for the selection committee to put the shiv in your back.
MORE: Ole Miss, Lane Kiffin apologize to Huge Freeze for ‘classless’ Tweets
MORE: Purdue does it again, knocks off No. 6 Michigan State
MORE: No. 3 Alabama holds on for ugly win against LSU
WINNERS AND LOSERS: Arizona wins for first time in more than two years
For a Saturday that looked like a snoozefest on paper, we sure learned a lot about several teams that were very much in the ballgame based on the committee’s first rankings.
Michigan State, which had risen to No. 3 after a surprising 8-0 start, finally fell flat at Purdue in a 40-29 loss.
Wake Forest, whose coach Dave Clawson suggested that brand bias may have played a role in being ranked No. 9 as an unbeaten ACC team, finally got burned for having a subpar defense in a 58-55 loss to North…
..
