Alabama Football: CFB Playoff spin inflates resumes of some teams

Alabama Football, after dispensing with Mississippi State is now firmly back in the College Football Playoff picture. The Crimson Tide is a solid No.4 in the AP and Coaches polls. There is considerable support for the Tide being a Playoff worthy team, but in the world of sports punditry, opinions lead to different conclusions.

There are reasons why some ‘experts’ have the Alabama Crimson Tide outside a projected final four. The Tide did not perform as an elite team in College Station. It also had problems with what is now a three-loss Florida team. Downplaying and downgrading Alabama Football is a profitable side gig for some pundits. All of which can be tolerated by Alabama football fans, except when opinions distort facts and lead to wild conclusions.

Without citing the source to protect the guilty, last week one pundit said Coastal Carolina would have a chance to prove its No. 14 ranking when it plays Appalachian State this week. Based on the most recent ranking of all 130 FBS teams, published by USA Today, App State is No. 39. Yes, the Chanticleers should handle App State but it will not prove the accuracy of a No. 14 ranking.

Even the credible major polls skew toward flashy style points. It is hard to believe that in picking a head-to-head result, between Texas A&M and higher ranked Coastal Carolina and Wake Forest, that the Aggies would not be widely chosen as a double-digit favorite.

The USA Today ranking listed above, ranks Wake No. 15, Coastal No. 16, San Diego State at No. 17, UTSA at No. 18 and then the Aggies at No. 19. Most followers of SEC football are confident the Aggies would have no problem with any of those teams.

All the rankings are subjective and therefore subject to debate. But there is one way to use them and calculate comparative data points. Bama Hammer had done that by using the USA Today ranking for the 130 FBS teams.

Alabama Football and seven other teams in USA Today Rankings

Note: These are not Coaches Poll rankings

• No. 1 – Georgia
• No. 2 – Cincinnati
• No. 3 – Alabama Crimson Tide
• No. 4 – Oklahoma
• No. 8 – Ohio State
• No. 16 – Coastal Carolina
• No. 17 – San Diego State (SDSU)
• No. 18 – UTSA

Using the rankings for all 130 teams, Georgia has played the toughest schedule so far, at an average ranking for an opponent of No. 49. Alabama Football is next with an opponent average of No. 51. The Sooners are at an average of No. 67, followed by Ohio State with an average of No. 69 and Cincinnati with an average of 72.4.

The overvalued teams are led by SDSU with an average opponent ranking of No. 94, followed by UTSA with an average of No. 106 and Coastal with an average of No. 113.

Games against FCS teams were not used in these calculations.

Pardon us when we yawn during media ‘oohs’ and ‘ahs’ over Coastal Carolina. The highest-ranked team the Chanticleers have played is No. 94 Louisiana-Monroe.

Getting back to legitimate Playoff contenders, adding remaining, regular-season games changes the numbers. Based on the current rankings, full regular season, potential averages are listed below.

• Oklahoma – Regular season average opponent ranking – No. 50
• Georgia – No. 53
• Alabama – No. 53
• Ohio State – No. 53
• Cincinnati – No. 81

An argument can be made SDSU, with a potential, regular season, average opponent ranking of No. 72, deserves as much attention as the Bearcats. SDSU certainly deserves more attention than Coastal with a potential, regular season, opponent average of No. 101.

College football rankings can offer oddities and at times craziness. On a grander scale of crazy is paying a 65-44, career coach, $17M to not coach your team.