The latest College Football Playoff rankings have been released and for the second week in a row the Buckeyes have been ranked second behind the No. 1 LSU Tigers.
This is the third edition of the rankings and following each release, selection committee chairman Rob Mullens holds a teleconference to answer questions from reporters. Before he begins answering questions, however, he very matter-of-factly explains why the top four teams are where they are.
Here is what he said following the first edition where the Buckeyes were No. 1 and LSU was No. 2.
“Ohio State is No. 1 because of their overall consistent dominant play each week as well as their strength on offense and defense. Undefeated LSU is No. 2 because of its tough schedule and marquee wins over Florida and Auburn.”
The following week, LSU defeated No. 3 Alabama, so it was expected that the Tigers would jump the Buckeyes. They did, and here’s what Mullens said that week.
“LSU has four wins against top-20 teams, the most of any team in the nation. LSU’s win on the road against Alabama was impressive. Its offense is explosive. LSU is ranked No. 1. Ohio State is ranked No. 2. It continues to play at a consistently high level on both sides of the ball. They’re an excellent team.”
One of those four wins against top-20 teams for LSU was Texas, who lost this past weekend to Iowa State and dropped out of the rankings. That is why instead of touting LSU’s big wins first this week, the committee went with the shiny object instead.
“Here’s what the committee was thinking: LSU remains impressive with its powerful offense. They have three wins against teams in the top 25. Ohio State is strong on both sides of the ball. They’ve made a statement all year long.”
The first two weeks when talking about LSU, Mullens cited their wins before their offense. Heck, after the first rankings, the offense wasn’t even brought up in his initial rundown. This week, with their top-20 wins dropping to just three, he cited their powerful offense first. The reasoning has changed, but the ranking has not.
When it comes to the committee and Ohio State, however, nothing has changed, except for the rankings.
In the first week it was the Buckeyes’ “overall consistent dominant play” and “strength on offense and defense.” The second week it was “consistently high level on both sides of the ball.” This week, “Ohio State is strong on both sides of the ball.”
Interestingly, LSU’s defense hasn’t been mentioned directly once by Mullens in any of these teleconferences.
Yes, surprisingly the defense that has allowed 400 yards passing to both Texas and Alabama, and 400 yards rushing to Ole Miss, has not been cited as a reason for LSU’s No. 1 ranking.
But that LSU offense. They are unmatched.
Well, not exactly.
The Tigers (47.8) are second in the nation in scoring behind Ohio State (51.5). The Buckeyes actually have eight more touchdowns than LSU does this season, not that the committee is counting.
When Mullens was asked about the gap between the two teams after the first rankings, he mentioned both teams having outstanding offenses and did not mention either team’s defense.
“You know, two great teams, 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.”
It makes you wonder if the Buckeyes didn’t even need to have their defense talked about in order to be viewed as having a better resume than LSU.
Or maybe the committee doesn’t really concern themselves with defense any longer since the SEC West doesn’t either.
But maybe some data isn’t even necessary.
Like when after the Tigers’ win over Alabama, Mullens didn’t even cite the LSU offense as the reason for the gap between the Buckeyes and LSU. Back then, it was about the win over Alabama and the three other top-20 wins.
“Those two teams are both great teams, and again, Ohio State was ranked No. 1 last week because of their consistent play at a very high level. But when you look at LSU’s resume now, with a win on the road at Alabama to add to the win on the road at Texas, plus two marquee wins at home against Florida and Auburn, so four ranked wins, that’s the most of any team in the nation. With that, the committee felt they deserved to be No. 1.”
A week ago it was LSU’s wins that separated them from Ohio State. This week, those top-25 wins dropped by one, and so it was the Tiger offense that was seen as the difference. The same Tiger offense, by the way, that has eight fewer touchdowns than Ohio State.
Mullens was asked this week about how much they have talked about LSU’s defense and how much it factored into their rankings.
“In the committee room we do talk about the different phases of the game for sure,” he said. “But again, we’re watching the games, looking at exactly how it happens. But we are talking about phases.”
In other words, yes, they talk about LSU’s defense, but boy howdy, did you see Joe Burrow?!
Even with the committee changing their whys for having LSU No. 1, the Buckeyes likely aren’t yet locked out of the top spot.
The Tigers have one more game against a ranked opponent, which would give them four wins over ranked teams. Ohio State already has two wins, and provided both Cincinnati and Wisconsin stay in the rankings — and the Buckeyes beat ranked Penn State, Michigan, and Wisconsin/Minnesota in the Big Ten Championship Game — OSU would then also have more wins over ranked opponents than LSU.
They will also have a better defense than the Tigers, should the committee finally choose to admit that into evidence.
“Well, results are the most important thing,” Mullens said tonight. “Let’s start with that. But sure, when you dig beyond the results, we’re looking at the how, and so we are looking at offense, defense and special teams.”
If both LSU and Ohio State win out, then the committee’s choice should be clear.
But then who knows, they may end up choosing to find new reasons to like the Tigers more, just like they did this week.