Alabama is No. 2; its powerhouse schedule explains why

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The initial College Football Playoff rankings last week were quite disappointing. The committee mirrored The Associated Press poll, other than swapping Georgia and Ohio State (Bulldogs were No. 2 in AP, No. 3 in the CFP).

The only good thing to say about the AP poll these days is that it’s better than the coaches poll. Both electorates are married to losses, with little regard to strength of schedule, though exceptions are made for the former. Like ranking Brigham Young far too low, at No. 9 (up to No. 7 this week).

The new AP poll released Sunday had four Big Ten teams ranked among the top five, which is absurd. BYU is 9-0 but is behind 10-0 Indiana, even though the Hoosiers have beaten just one team with a winning record, 5-4 Nebraska.

Tennessee, 8-1, has beaten Alabama but is penalized for losing at Arkansas, opposite of the treatment of 8-1 Penn State, which lost at home to powerhouse Ohio State but has no better victory than at West Virginia.

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We’re never going to get anywhere in college football scheduling if we keep valuing minimized defeats more than quality victories.

Anyway, here are my weekly national rankings, and remember, I judge teams based on three things: Who did you play, where did you play and how did you do?

1. Oregon (10-0): The Ducks are a solid No. 1. A very solid schedule, without a blemish.

2. Alabama (7-2): The Crimson Tide has played seven power-conference opponents. All of them have a winning record. You could look it up. Wisconsin, Georgia, Vanderbilt, South Carolina, Tennessee, Missouri and Louisiana State.

3. Brigham Young (9-0): Very few teams have two better wins than the Cougars’ victories over Southern Methodist and Kansas State.

4. Ohio State (8-1): The Buckeyes’ second-best win is, I guess, home against Iowa.

5. Tennessee (8-1): The Volunteers go to Athens, Georgia, on Saturday. You’ve got to buckle up in the SEC’s new scheduling format.

6. Ole Miss (8-2): The Rebels met the challenge in beating Georgia 28-10.

7. Georgia (7-2): The Bulldogs have played Clemson, Alabama, Texas and Ole Miss. None of them in Athens. Don’t go ranking Georgia much lower than seventh.

8. Indiana (10-0): I love the Hoosier story. I’m just ready for IU to play somebody.

9. Texas A&M (7-2): The Aggies won’t have to worry about the playoff rankings, if they beat Texas, then go on to win the SEC Championship Game.

10. Penn State (8-1): The Nittany Lions have beaten some name brands. I’ll give them that. Southern Cal, Washington, Wisconsin, West Virginia, UCLA.

11. Notre Dame (8-1): The Fighting Irish resume’ is getting thin. Beating Florida State 52-3 didn’t help anything.

12. Texas (8-1): I’ve been ranking the Longhorns too high. When your best win is Michigan or OU — first team to 10 points wins when it’s Sooners-Wolerines — you don’t get much consideration.

13. Southern Methodist (8-1): The Mustangs are in the driver’s seat to make the Atlantic Coast Conference title game. SMU and BYU would be really cool as top-four seeds in the playoff.

14. Miami (9-1): Close calls against so-so teams finally caught up to the Hurricanes, in a loss at Georgia Tech.

15. Louisiana State (6-3): LSU has played nine games. Southern Cal and UCLA are below median in terms of toughest opponents.

16. Kansas State (7-2): The Wildcats have to be rueing their loss to Houston, else K-State would be knocking on the top-10 door.

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