Post CFP Show - Media Teleconference Q/A w/Committee Executive Richard Clark
Q: Why is Texas ahead of Georgia?
A: "The overall body of work, with a Top 5 defense and their Quarterback leading this top 20 offense. Georgia did struggle with Ole Miss at Ole Miss but did have a nice win over Tennessee this week."
Q: Was there a discussion of moving Georgia up further based on where Texas is (being a top 3 road win).
A: "We really had a long debate as a committee, with Ole Miss, Georgia, Miami, and Alabama. Very small margins in terms of things we are looking at and comparing over the last couple of days."
Q: The Ranking of BYU at 14?
A: "Close win against SMU, great win against Kansas State with close wins over Utah and Oklahoma State. The tough loss at home against Kansas, it's something the committee has been monitoring all along, we don't penalize teams for winning close or winning to big, we penalize them for losing."
Q: What are you looking for in the Ohio State vs. Indiana game this week, especially the loser down the road?
A: "We're looking at a lot of variables, how the Offense and Defense play - what are their streaks as far as in each half, the consistency of performance. We will assess no matter if they win or lose, the same way. In terms of who loses and how that impacts the rankings, that is to be determined."
Q: Four SEC Teams that have 2 losses and all played each other, what's the weak point in Tennessee resume?
A: "1. they just had the loss at Georgia, and the also have the loss at Arkansas - They are a really good team with a top defense, but we are splitting hairs between Tennessee, Georgia, Ole Miss and Alabama. They have beat each other at different times, so we have to look at Alabama over the last 3 games (LSU, Missouri, Mercer), we were very impressed with there win at LSU. So we will continue to monitor all of these teams as the season goes on."
Q: Assessment of Notre Dame
A: "Riley Leonard has really come into his own, they had a great opening win against Texas A&M, they had a great win against Navy and we are impressed with how they have bounced back since that loss, they have really come on strong."
Q: How does the committee view South Carolina and Clemson, who play in two weeks?
A: "Clemson bounced back after Louisville with wins against Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh, Klubnik has handled this offense very well, as well as South Carolina"
Q: Mountain West Conference - thoughts on Boise getting that 4 Seed and UNLV being ranked?
A1: "they have performed very well against their schedule, it started with a 3-point loss to Oregon. For us, you look at what Ashton Jeanty has done, leading the country in rushing - being a great solid team in performance and the committee has been impressed with their performance."
A2: "Two close losses for UNLV, OT vs Syracuse, and a close loss to Boise State, their Quarterback has been impressive and despite not being the top 2 in their league, we have been impressed by UNLV."
Q: Georgia Ranking vs. SEC.
A: "It's hard as we look at all of these teams, they all play different schedules. It's not the fault of a team that doesn't play better opponent, these conferences have changed in size so some teams are missing out on tougher games, so even without the SOS, we have to rely on who they are playing and how they are playing them. We look at it holistically, SOS is an important data point for us, but it's not the only data point. Georgia had a great game against Tennessee, so we will continue to monitor them for the rest of the season. Head to Head losses against Ole Miss and Alabama (whom they are behind in the rankings)."
Q: Penn State vs. Alabama Rankings while looking at SOS
A: "Given they are playing different schedules in any given week. (SOS, Who they are playing, Where are they playing, Where is an opponent ranked?), it's not cut and dry. If it was just about SOS, the rankings would look much different. All teams can do is play who is in front of them and the committee has to evaluate and react to that, it's not something we take lightly, it's not easy. We take a hard look at it everything."
Next week's rankings will be released at 7:00 pm Central on Tuesday, November 26th
Big Week 13 Games with Impact on the Playoff
- 2. Ohio State vs. 5. Indiana
- 3. Texas vs. Kentucky
- 6. Notre Dame vs 19. Army
- 7. Alabama at Oklahoma (Night Game in SEC)
- 9. Ole Miss @ Florida (just defeated LSU)
- 14. BYU @ 21. Arizona State
- 15. Texas A&M @ Auburn (Night Game in SEC)
- 16. Colorado @ Kansas (just defeated BYU)
Big Week 14 Games with Impact on the Playoff
- 1. Oregon vs. Washington
- 2. Ohio State vs. Michigan
- 3. Texas @ 15. Texas A&M
- 6. Notre Dame @ USC
- 7. Alabama vs. Auburn
- 9. Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State - Friday
- 11. Tennessee @ Vanderbilt
- 10. Georgia vs. Georgia Tech - Friday
- 12. Boise State vs. Oregon State - Friday
- 16. Colorado vs. Oklahoma State - Friday
- 17. Clemson vs. 18. South Carolina
Projected Conference Title Games with Impact on the Playoff (on 11/19)
B10 - 1. Oregon vs. 2. Ohio State (Indiana with a chance)
SEC - 3. Texas vs. 7. Alabama (Georgia, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas A&M with a chance)
ACC - 8. Miami vs. 13. SMU (Clemson with a chance)
MWC - 12. Boise State vs. Colorado State (UNLV with a chance)
B12 - 14. BYU vs. 16. Colorado (Arizona State, Iowa State with a chance)
AAC - 19. Army vs. 20. Tulane
Q: Why is Texas ahead of Georgia?
A: "The overall body of work, with a Top 5 defense and their Quarterback leading this top 20 offense. Georgia did struggle with Ole Miss at Ole Miss but did have a nice win over Tennessee this week."
Q: Was there a discussion of moving Georgia up further based on where Texas is (being a top 3 road win).
A: "We really had a long debate as a committee, with Ole Miss, Georgia, Miami, and Alabama. Very small margins in terms of things we are looking at and comparing over the last couple of days."
Q: The Ranking of BYU at 14?
A: "Close win against SMU, great win against Kansas State with close wins over Utah and Oklahoma State. The tough loss at home against Kansas, it's something the committee has been monitoring all along, we don't penalize teams for winning close or winning to big, we penalize them for losing."
Q: What are you looking for in the Ohio State vs. Indiana game this week, especially the loser down the road?
A: "We're looking at a lot of variables, how the Offense and Defense play - what are their streaks as far as in each half, the consistency of performance. We will assess no matter if they win or lose, the same way. In terms of who loses and how that impacts the rankings, that is to be determined."
Q: Four SEC Teams that have 2 losses and all played each other, what's the weak point in Tennessee resume?
A: "1. they just had the loss at Georgia, and the also have the loss at Arkansas - They are a really good team with a top defense, but we are splitting hairs between Tennessee, Georgia, Ole Miss and Alabama. They have beat each other at different times, so we have to look at Alabama over the last 3 games (LSU, Missouri, Mercer), we were very impressed with there win at LSU. So we will continue to monitor all of these teams as the season goes on."
Q: Assessment of Notre Dame
A: "Riley Leonard has really come into his own, they had a great opening win against Texas A&M, they had a great win against Navy and we are impressed with how they have bounced back since that loss, they have really come on strong."
Q: How does the committee view South Carolina and Clemson, who play in two weeks?
A: "Clemson bounced back after Louisville with wins against Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh, Klubnik has handled this offense very well, as well as South Carolina"
Q: Mountain West Conference - thoughts on Boise getting that 4 Seed and UNLV being ranked?
A1: "they have performed very well against their schedule, it started with a 3-point loss to Oregon. For us, you look at what Ashton Jeanty has done, leading the country in rushing - being a great solid team in performance and the committee has been impressed with their performance."
A2: "Two close losses for UNLV, OT vs Syracuse, and a close loss to Boise State, their Quarterback has been impressive and despite not being the top 2 in their league, we have been impressed by UNLV."
Q: Georgia Ranking vs. SEC.
A: "It's hard as we look at all of these teams, they all play different schedules. It's not the fault of a team that doesn't play better opponent, these conferences have changed in size so some teams are missing out on tougher games, so even without the SOS, we have to rely on who they are playing and how they are playing them. We look at it holistically, SOS is an important data point for us, but it's not the only data point. Georgia had a great game against Tennessee, so we will continue to monitor them for the rest of the season. Head to Head losses against Ole Miss and Alabama (whom they are behind in the rankings)."
Q: Penn State vs. Alabama Rankings while looking at SOS
A: "Given they are playing different schedules in any given week. (SOS, Who they are playing, Where are they playing, Where is an opponent ranked?), it's not cut and dry. If it was just about SOS, the rankings would look much different. All teams can do is play who is in front of them and the committee has to evaluate and react to that, it's not something we take lightly, it's not easy. We take a hard look at it everything."
Next week's rankings will be released at 7:00 pm Central on Tuesday, November 26th
Big Week 13 Games with Impact on the Playoff
- 2. Ohio State vs. 5. Indiana
- 3. Texas vs. Kentucky
- 6. Notre Dame vs 19. Army
- 7. Alabama at Oklahoma (Night Game in SEC)
- 9. Ole Miss @ Florida (just defeated LSU)
- 14. BYU @ 21. Arizona State
- 15. Texas A&M @ Auburn (Night Game in SEC)
- 16. Colorado @ Kansas (just defeated BYU)
Big Week 14 Games with Impact on the Playoff
- 1. Oregon vs. Washington
- 2. Ohio State vs. Michigan
- 3. Texas @ 15. Texas A&M
- 6. Notre Dame @ USC
- 7. Alabama vs. Auburn
- 9. Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State - Friday
- 11. Tennessee @ Vanderbilt
- 10. Georgia vs. Georgia Tech - Friday
- 12. Boise State vs. Oregon State - Friday
- 16. Colorado vs. Oklahoma State - Friday
- 17. Clemson vs. 18. South Carolina
Projected Conference Title Games with Impact on the Playoff (on 11/19)
B10 - 1. Oregon vs. 2. Ohio State (Indiana with a chance)
SEC - 3. Texas vs. 7. Alabama (Georgia, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas A&M with a chance)
ACC - 8. Miami vs. 13. SMU (Clemson with a chance)
MWC - 12. Boise State vs. Colorado State (UNLV with a chance)
B12 - 14. BYU vs. 16. Colorado (Arizona State, Iowa State with a chance)
AAC - 19. Army vs. 20. Tulane
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