This week on the Selection Committee, Spencer Hall and Matt Brown join Dan Rubenstein to talk about our top four for this week, led by Clemson, Alabama and Ohio State. We also talked Oklahoma State’s new playoff merits, Iowa’s ability to match up with Big Ten powers and the teams that appear to be out of the conversation at the moment, but could slingshot in from afar with a few great weeks.
If the season ended today, these should be the College Football Playoff teams
The College Football Playoff committee’s new rankings are over here. If the SB Nation Selection Committee were in charge, this would be your top four.
With our committee having Clemson, Alabama and Ohio State as the near-consensus top three, our process of using season résumés and current level of play is clear.
Despite its loss, No. 4 Notre Dame is playing at a offensive level that justifies inclusion. Sure, undefeated Power 5 conference teams like Baylor, Oklahoma State and Iowa each have strong cases, but with our focus on at-the-moment quality and depth of results, the Irish have simply done more against better opponents than the other teams under consideration.
With two votes, Stanford is likely better represented in the SB Nation committee than it will be in the actual vote, mostly due to their consistent margins of victory over quality teams. This is a fact the actual committee steadfastly refuses to acknowledge, unless comparing the performances of two teams vs. a common opponent.
With that in mind, the Big Ten and Big 12 both have backloaded schedules with major matchups playing out over these final few weeks, so expect continued change in our top four.
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