Washington need not worry about playing catchup in CFP rankings
— -- That the College Football Playoff rankings differ so markedly from the media polls is perhaps the biggest sign of the wisdom of the selection committee waiting until November to make its first decision. Preseason polls are an exercise in dart throwing, and speaking as a former 17-year AP voter, as well as someone who participates in the ESPN Power Rankings, I can attest to how easy it is to get locked into a viewpoint. That said, I am in no way, shape or form advocating to dump the polls. They're fun. And they serve their original purpose: to sell newspapers (and, these days, clicks).
1. For those of you who, like me, have drawn blood scratching your head over how Texas A&M is ranked ahead of Washington in the first CFP rankings, there are two consolations. The odds of the rankings being the same on Dec. 4 as they are on Nov. 3 are slight. And if this is how it ends, we would have a fantastic set of New Year's Six bowls: Ohio State-Washington in the Rose Bowl;?Oklahoma-Auburn in the Sugar Bowl;?Louisville-Wisconsin in the Orange Bowl; and Western Michigan-Nebraska in the Cotton Bowl. The traditional bowls have suffered in the playoff era; anything that benefits them is a plus.
2. Clemson is No. 2, despite being pushed to the limit in three of its past four games. The Tigers trailed No. 7 Louisville and No. 22?Florida State?in the fourth quarter, and they needed overtime to beat NC State. Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney agrees with the premise that the Tigers aren't playing their best football. But he also chose to look at the big picture that illustrates how far Clemson has progressed in his nine seasons as head coach. "In 2010, we had five losses by seven points or less," Swinney said, "and this year, we have five wins by seven points or less. That is a program. That's culture."
3. The rise of Colorado?is one of the feel-good stories of the 2016 season, and I mean that literally. The No. 15 Buffaloes, 6-2 and leading the Pac-12 South by a half-game (4-1) over No. 16 Utah and USC, have remained remarkably injury-free this season. Fourteen players have started every game, and four others have started seven of eight. That makes the Buffs fortunate, but there's one other stat that illustrates why they are good: Six players have started 30 games. Head coach Mike MacIntyre recruited well, and Colorado took its beatings for three years. The Buffs are grown up now.
4. The Campbell Trophy finalists announced by the National Football Foundation are a mix of 12 players with big names and small, from big schools and small, all of whom share in common a high GPA and the ability to play college football. Quarterbacks Taysom Hill of BYU, Zach Terrell of No. 23 Western Michigan, and Cooper Rush of Central Michigan are the stars of the list, but a special shout out goes to Duke safety DeVon Edwards, a finalist despite suffering a season-ending knee injury in September. The finalists receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship. The winner, announced at the Hall of Fame dinner in New York on Dec. 6, will receive an additional $7,000 grant.
5. When the conference commissioners created the College Football Playoff, they debated at length over whether a team must win its conference to reach the semifinals. They decided against that requirement in order to ensure the playoff got the four best teams, not the four best conference champions. However, the commissioners didn't extend the same logic to the Group of 5 conferences when awarding them a New Year's Six bowl slot. No. 23 Western Michigan is only one slot ahead of No. 24 Boise State. But the latter Broncos, after losing at Wyoming on Saturday, need the Cowboys to lose twice in order to win the MWC West. I understand the hackles that would be raised if a nonchampion got the berth. But why pick the best team in one instance and not the other?
6. Fourth-quarter point differential is an interesting stat. No. 1 Alabama has its smallest point differential in the fourth quarter (plus-41), but the Crimson Tide have begun six of eight fourth quarters with at least a three-score lead. With Nebraska, however, it means something. According to ESPN's Stats & Information research, the Huskers lead the FBS in the fourth quarter at plus-95. What makes that impressive is that Nebraska has entered the fourth quarter at a cumulative plus-23. The Huskers have had two leads of 11 points, four leads of seven points or fewer and have trailed twice. That plus-95 has made Nebraska 7-1, with the loss coming in overtime on Saturday at Wisconsin.
7. When Vanderbilt beat FCS Tennessee State 35-17 on Oct. 22, the Commodores not only won consecutive games for the first time in head coach Derek Mason's three seasons, they also reached .500 (4-4) for the first time. One big reason is that Vandy is taking care of the ball. They have gone from minus-16 in 2014 to minus-8 in 2015 to this season's plus-6. Their seven giveaways are two fewer than any other SEC team. If the Commodores are to get their first winning record under Mason, they have to do so at No. 9 Auburn, which is second in fewest turnovers, with nine.