College Football Rankings Show Slammed as Pointless

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Weekly College Football Rankings Draw Sharp Criticism

The College Football Committee’s weekly ranking show was criticized as unnecessary and bad for the sport. Unlike college basketball, which offers a limited February preview of its top 16 teams, college football produces weekly rankings that create a supposedly more important version of the AP poll.

The panel’s justification for the latest rankings appeared to be that they did not matter yet and would eventually work themselves out. Even Reese Davis, typically the level-headed voice on the set, appeared frustrated by that explanation.

The AP poll released in August was also described as irrelevant, with teams moving up and down each week without enough thought. However, the November college football rankings were called even more pointless.

Notre Dame provided a clear example of the confusion. The Irish did not fall from No. 4 to No. 11 in the same poll. They remained No. 4 in the AP poll while debuting at No. 11 in a separate ranking. On a neutral field, Notre Dame would have been favored in the discussion over every team ranked ahead of them except Georgia and Miami.

Other decisions also raised questions. LSU was unranked despite being viewed as one of the stronger teams, Tennessee and Alabama were separated by eight spots, and Indiana was ranked No. 4 after going to overtime against struggling Big Ten teams.

The larger issue is inconsistency. Head-to-head results matter in some cases but not in others, creating hypocrisy throughout the rankings. Each new ranking also becomes the basis for the following week’s adjustments, meaning an early decision can create additional problems later.

If Notre Dame beats Miami, the expectation is that the Irish will jump Miami. But if Ole Miss beats Georgia, Notre Dame should not necessarily jump Ole Miss. The same question applies to an unbeaten UCLA team. As a result, a Miami loss could send the team back to around ninth because the committee would be working from rankings that already lacked clear logic.

The committee has backed itself into similar corners before, including when Miami and Notre Dame were flipped after neither team played. Questions also remain about why an undefeated UCLA team could be ranked so low for not beating anyone while the No. 1 team faced the same criticism. Georgia was said to have better wins than Miami, while Indiana’s No. 4 ranking was also questioned.

The weekly show continues because it is contractual. Even if the format changes in the future, the concern is that expanding it could make the process even more nonsensical.