OXFORD, Miss – Two of the three major college football polls/rankings are already published and there wasn’t a lot of movement around Ole Miss.
The Rebels held firm at No. 6 in US LBM Coaches Poll and moved up one spot to No. 6 in the AP Poll.
That small adjustment came after Oregon needed a last-second field goal to beat Iowa on the road, but the Rebels were already ahead of the Ducks in the initial College Football Playoff rankings last week.
Considering none of the top three undefeated teams lost, and neither did Alabama or Georgia. So, it figures that Ole Miss will remain at No. 6.
The real intrigue is if the committee will move Texas A&M ahead of Indiana in the top three.
The Aggies let Missouri hang around for a little bit, but won handily 38-17. The Hoosiers, however, nearly lost to a Penn State team that was without its starting quarterback and head coach.
Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza had to put on a Heisman-worthy game-winning drive aided by two miraculous catches.
With the Hoosiers struggling and the Aggies not, should the committee flip the two?
Lane Kiffin’s Take
Many people questioned the committee’s initial decision to have Ohio State and Indiana ahead of Texas A&M, including Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin.
“Texas A&M being No. 3 — what more could they do to be No. 1?” Kiffin asked rhetorically on Monday. “People always say schedule tough and they went to Notre Dame and won. But if that’s not rewarded, what’s the point? They have the highest metrics, and they’re still not No. 1. So I don’t know.”
It’s a fair question to ask. Having a tougher schedule was a main reason the SEC is expanding to a nine-game conference schedule next season.
The BYU Question
The committee’s approach to considering a team’s tough schedule will also be in the spotlight with its ranking of one-loss BYU.
The Cougars were No. 7 in the initial rankings, but lost to then-No. 8 Texas Tech. The Red Raiders should move up to that spot (if the committee moves them in front of Ole Miss, Kiffin’s appearance at Wednesday’s SEC teleconference will be must-see), but how far does BYU fall?
The floor is probably right ahead of Utah. BYU beat the Utes earlier this season and Utah already has two losses. But where does BYU fall in the mix of No. 10 Notre Dame, No. 11 Texas and No. 12 Oklahoma?
All three schools have two losses (BYU has just one) but have played much tougher schedules than the Cougars.
If the committee does value teams that play tougher schedules, BYU should be ranked after Oklahoma. If that doesn’t happen, then every FBS team needs to start reevaluating its future plans of scheduling tough opponents.
The College Football Playoff committee will unveil its updated rankings on a live show at 6 p.m. on ESPN.
