Early Tuesday afternoon, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day was asked for his thoughts on the initial College Football Playoff rankings that would be released later that night.
His thoughts were that he had no thoughts.
“I think it’s for the fans,” he said. “Doesn’t mean anything to us because if we lose this weekend, we’re not going to be in the top four, that’s for sure. What matters is where we’re at once we’re done with the season, the regular season.
“None of that really matters to us.”
But, you might ask, he’s at least a little curious, right?
“Not really, no,” he said. “Because again, it doesn’t matter if we don’t continue to win. What matters is the record at the end of the season, where you’re ranked at the end.”
While Day wasn’t interested in the rankings or the committee, the rankings committee was most definitely interested in the Buckeyes, ranking them No. 1 overall Tuesday night.
During the reveal of the rankings, ESPN’s Rece Davis interviewed CFP committee chair Rob Mullens about a number of topics, including why Ohio State over LSU.
“Two outstanding teams,” Mullens said. “We obviously recognized LSU’s marquee wins against Florida and Auburn. Two outstanding offenses with Joe Burrow and the new offensive coordinator at LSU, but when you watch Ohio State, they have performed at a very consistent level. Really good on both sides of the ball. Explosive offensive playmakers, and Chase Young is probably as disruptive a defensive player as there is in the country. And when you look at their resume, they perform at a consistency high level every week.”
And after rattling off the reasoning of the committee, Davis weighed in with his own thoughts, seeminglly dismissive of the data the committee used to come up with their top-ranked team.
“That’s the eye test right there,” the ESPN host said.
Following the initial College Football Playoff rankings release on ESPN, Mullens held a teleconference with media from around the country.
The Buckeyes came up a couple of more times throughout the 17-minute interview session.
Mullens began, however, by explaining how they came up with their top four, which is succinct and informative.
“Ohio State is No. 1 because of their overall consistent dominant play each week as well as their strength on offense and defense,” he said. “Undefeated LSU is No. 2 because of its tough schedule and marquee wins over Florida and Auburn. Alabama is No. 3 because committee members are impressed with its overall performance and quality of play on both sides of the ball. Penn State is No. 4 because of its strong play, which includes wins over Michigan and Iowa. Penn State’s strength of schedule gave it an edge over an impressive Clemson, which we ranked No. 5.”
When it came to evaluating Ohio State over LSU and everyone else, Mullens was asked if it was just the eye test as Rece Davis suggested, or did they actually have some metrics they used.
“Sure, it was both. Obviously, we have data,” Mullens said. “They’re highly ranked in just about every statistical category, both offensively and defensively. Again, when you watch their games, they play at a consistent high level. Again, on both sides of the ball, explosive offensive playmakers, outstanding defense, probably the best defensive player in the country at this point. Very efficient, very consistent.”
Mullens was then asked how the committee could square Ohio State’s non-conference schedule with LSU’s, since OSU didn’t “put themselves out there” and LSU has a win over Texas.
“I mean, we’re looking at the whole schedule, and sure, we recognize that LSU went on the road and beat a Texas team,” Mullens said. “We recognize that Ohio State beat a Cincinnati team that’s ranked. So sure, we look at all the games, conference and non-conference, and both these teams have strong schedules.”
Through all of Mullens’ explanations and answers from everyone, it seemed clear that Ohio State was the obvious No. 1 and there was a bit of room between the Buckeyes and LSU.
Just how much room there was between LSU and Ohio State was what I wanted to know and it was the question I was trying to ask. Bill Rabinowitz of the Columbus Dispatch beat me to it, however.
But Mullens’ response was not worth the wait and was the only answer you needed to hear to know that everything could change by this time next week.
“You know, two great teams,” Mullens said when explaining the gap between Ohio State and LSU.
“And when you’ve got two strong teams with quality schedules, both undefeated, two outstanding offenses, great quarterback play, so there’s a lengthy discussion, and at the end of the day, the committee felt that Ohio State was 1 and LSU was 2.”
That was the answer to a very direct question and one that could have provided actual insight to Ohio State and LSU.
Instead, it was just words that formed sentences but didn’t mean anything beyond the individual words spoken.
And next week, the exact thing could be said about the exact opposite outcome and mean something completely different.
As long as Ohio State stays at No. 1, however, you can probably overlook it.