Klatt goes off on CFP Committee Keeping Tennessee Ranked
Thought this was a pretty hilarious rant from Klatt. What he says is totally true. Even in a down year in the SEC, they are still getting the benefit of the doubt. Missouri being ranked #9 is stupid enough, but Tennessee being ranked #21?? Hilarious! Their best win is Texas A&M. They have 4 losses. They lost to Florida, which is a team that lost to Utah, but Utah isn't ranked.
Starts around the 12 minute mark.
November 22nd, 2023 at 11:49 AM ^
As seen in the team ranking roundup thread a couple posts below this one, Tennessee is ranked exactly where it should be.
November 22nd, 2023 at 11:58 AM ^
Their best win is Kentucky.
Edit: the best part of Klatt's video is the Hampton commercial and what he says, in it, about the committee. When I have time, I'll clip it from a pc. Site functions poorly on Android after the update.
Edit 2: here's the Hampton plug. Hilarious. Listen through the whole plug (starts at 18:53, but the relevant CFP committee shade begins around 19:29). It's worth it:
November 22nd, 2023 at 12:30 PM ^
It's Texas A&M. Say what you will about the Aggies, but they're well over UK.
November 22nd, 2023 at 12:56 PM ^
A&M is winless on the road. That win is poo. That it might be better than an away win over a rival who had been ranked the previous week, just shows how bad TN's best work was. And their bad games were very, very bad.
Tennessee would be a bottom feeder in the B1G west.
November 22nd, 2023 at 1:02 PM ^
If you think Kentucky is better than Texas A&M, fair enough, but I disagree.
I also think UT "would be a bottom feeder in the B1G West" is hyperbole. Both SP+ and FEI have Tennessee ranked higher than EVERY SINGLE B1G West team!
November 22nd, 2023 at 1:13 PM ^
I agree that Tennessee is better than most West teams, but I don’t think they could win the division. Iowa would shut them out, they would probably lose a crossover game, and then they probably lose another game or two to some West teams.
November 22nd, 2023 at 3:34 PM ^
Counterpoint: The best part of the video is at the end when Joel describes a bar fight he had when he was younger and in Montana playing minor league baseball. See 39:00 mark.
Oh, yeah, the rankings discussion was good, too.
November 22nd, 2023 at 12:01 PM ^
Unless there are 100 other teams with 3-4 losses under no circumstances should a 4 loss team be ranked anywhere in the top 25. Ever.
November 22nd, 2023 at 1:09 PM ^
To be fair, we've reached the point of the season where there ARE 111 other teams (of the 133 in FBS) that have 3-4 (or more) losses. Only 22 left with 2 or less losses.
November 22nd, 2023 at 12:11 PM ^
Yeah, I think Tennessee is a bit overrated by the various analytic systems - they get a bit too much love for being a top-35 team that is mediocre across the board so they rise up because other teams are a bit more variable. But they're not a "bad" team and if they're #27 vs. #21 that's not some huge injustice to me. Ole Miss being ranked 12th, for example, feels way worse.
November 22nd, 2023 at 12:29 PM ^
+1. Tennessee does have a win over Texas A&M. The advanced metrics all have A&M in the mid-teens.
I wouldn't personally have Tennessee at 21 (the resume ratings I personally play around with on my internal spreadsheet have them at 26), but I don't think it's egriously wrong either. The Texas A&M win gives their resume some credibility.
Your last sentence --- if one's going to complain about the SEC, I think that's the much larger miss. Ole Miss being behind Missouri makes no sense. Ole Miss beat LSU, Missouri lost to LSU. Big difference: and after that, their resumes are equal to me. Both have a very credible and roughly equal OOC win: Ole Miss at Tulane, Missouri at home vs. K-State. Ole Miss beat Texas A&M, Missouri beat Tennessee, both at home - call those equal. Missouri lost to UGA by less, but UGA still won both easily.
November 22nd, 2023 at 3:15 PM ^
Yeah, I think Tennessee isn't as good as they were last year because the QB is much weaker but defensively they've been solid and at some point the difference between the 21st and the 31st team in the country is pretty minimal so rank them wherever. But Ole Miss doesn't strike me as anything close to the #12 team in the country.
November 22nd, 2023 at 1:17 PM ^
Yeah I usually try to corroborate with SP+ since that has Michigan first and I like to agree with things that I enjoy seeing.
Ole Miss/Mizzou are 16/17 on SP+ but 12/9 on Playoff rankings (I know Mizzou is still probably a little hurt by preseason projections). Tennessee is right at 22.
I do wish Michigan played a few more teams in the Tennesee/Kentucky range, where they're not really a big threat to lose (I understand Maryland is in this range) but can get talked about like it's a quality win- Kentucky is still brought up as quality since they were ranked when they played Georgia. I do find it funny that Maryland and Auburn are virtually identical in SP+ but since Michigan's happened in week 12, it's far more concerning than Georgia's same type of game against Auburn.
None of this really matters of course. But the premise that the SEC is overrated even when it was merely okay during non-con is a bit frustrating.
November 22nd, 2023 at 3:21 PM ^
Yeah, what sucks for Michigan is that Minnesota picked a year to go 5-6 instead of 9-4, and Nebraska has floundered a bit the past couple of weeks. Then those wins look as good as Kentucky, which I agree keeps being treated like a quality win despite the fact they are decidedly not that type of team. Kentucky is just a middling team that swamped Florida so everyone thinks that says more about UK than it does about 5-6 UF.
And yeah, Georgia's game against Auburn is arguably more troubling because that was a game they absolutely needed a crazy performance out of Bowers to win, while UM got a bad performance out of McCarthy and a middling one out of the offense overall and still never really trailed.
The SEC is always going to get the benefit of the doubt as long as one of their members wins national titles, unfortunately.
November 22nd, 2023 at 11:51 AM ^
Once you get that far down the list, does it even matter? Tennessee isn't going to the playoff, they're not going to a NY6 bowl, they're just irrelevant. If you want to rank them because zomgSECgood, go for it.
November 22nd, 2023 at 11:54 AM ^
Uh, actually, it does matter, because if the CFP committee is trying to compare resumes between two similar teams to decide who is #4, and they see that one team has 3 top 25 wins vs another team only having 2 top 25 wins, then it could make all the difference in the world.
November 22nd, 2023 at 12:03 PM ^
Meh.
Win the Game and Michigan is in the CFP. We know from past experience that the committee will manipulate 1-4 to get the matchups they want, so rankings don't really matter there. Sure, they could claim to use a metric like # of top 25 wins for seeding, but there isn't any reason for the committee to bother making that effort.
If they want a 1. UGA- 4. Michigan first round matchup they'll invent a reason for it, even up to the point of jumping a 1 loss team ahead of Michigan. Committee gonna Committee.
November 22nd, 2023 at 12:08 PM ^
For OSU, win or lose the game you are in. For Georgia, win or lose the game you are in based on number of teams you beat that are in top 25.
This affects probably Texas especially if Alabama beats Georgia. So, this is not meh.
Why should SEC teams get preferential treatment?
November 22nd, 2023 at 12:10 PM ^
This move is part of the manipulation you are referring to. The CFP Committee absolutely looks at "Top-25" wins when deciding playoff ranking. Just win is the mentality our team needs, but let's not gloss over the obvious posturing going on here as if it doesn't matter. It may or may not affect Michigan, but it will almost certainly affect someone.
November 22nd, 2023 at 12:05 PM ^
I saw a nice fun fact saturday. That against Tennessee was UGAs first road game vs a ranked opponent in like 2 years.
You have to be shitting me.
November 22nd, 2023 at 1:52 PM ^
Precisely why it is folly to put so much stock in the Dr. Pepper Bowls
That said, M absolutely needs a CFP win this year to stick it to the haters
November 22nd, 2023 at 11:56 AM ^
One of the reasons they keep teams higher then they should be is for the top teams "quality wins" or strength of schedule. Easier to justify SEC teams rankings if they prop up their mid and low tier teams. It is stupid, but the reality is when the committee is going over teams, those two factors get included.
November 22nd, 2023 at 12:03 PM ^
This narrative that pre-season and lower CFP rankings "don't matter" absolutely needs to die in a fire. They're the basis for all the other fucked up decisions at the top of the rankings.
November 22nd, 2023 at 12:05 PM ^
Many composite stats still used these rankings as inputs, so this definitely matters. When they're factoring in a one loss SEC team against others teams, they're going to use things like strength of schedule, ranked wins, etc to make a case for/against.
Ranking middle of the road SEC teams just because they're in the SEC completely skews these.
November 22nd, 2023 at 11:53 AM ^
At this point im expecting the final rankings to be
1. Michigan
2. Washington
3. Alabama
4. Georgia
I think Bama beats Georgia in a close game and they both get in. FSU goes undefeated but is left out because of Travis getting injured. Texas wins out but they'll say Bama has the better win.
Edit: The final cfp rankings in 2015 had 12-1 Oregon at #2, and 13-0 FSU at #3
Now of course they weren't left out of the playoff but there is a precedent for a one loss team being ranked higher than an undefeated power 5 champ.
November 22nd, 2023 at 11:55 AM ^
Possible, but more than likely 13-0 FSU would be in.
November 22nd, 2023 at 12:17 PM ^
Doubtful they win out with their starting QB out for the season. They'll be penalized for it.
November 22nd, 2023 at 2:11 PM ^
On the other hand, FSU finishes out with a mediocre UF, who also lost its starting QB (Mertz) last week, and then Louisville, who's had a nice season, but isn't as elite as most P5 teams that make it to a conference championship game. Wouldn't be surprised if FSU drops a game, but I'm worried that they won't be as tested as they ought to be.
November 22nd, 2023 at 11:56 AM ^
Certainly possible, but I think it’s cause for rioting if an undefeated P5 team gets left out when there are only 3 undefeated P5 teams.
November 22nd, 2023 at 12:11 PM ^
Especially when it's clear that the CFP committee is doing everything they can to make sure OSU still gets in regardless of what happens this weekend. I see zero scenarios where OSU is left out of the playoff unless there are 4 undefeated P5 teams
Edit: on second thought I think a 1-loss UGA is the only 1-loss team that would beat out a 1-loss OSU
November 22nd, 2023 at 12:50 PM ^
Let's beat osu 42-27...no, 45-23...no, how about 48-19 this time.
Leave zero doubt that the bucknads do NOT belong in the CFP.
November 22nd, 2023 at 5:26 PM ^
Very unlikely. Big10, SEC and Pac12 champ are locks that only leaves one team. If Bama beats Georgia then Georgia is definitely ahead of OSU. If Texas wins the Big12 with a win at Bama they are ahead of OSU. An undefeated FSU team should still get in, they will have beat a Louisville team that beat ND proving they can win without Travis. I would argue a 1 loss Washington team that at least split with the team they lost to and is in the playoff would be ahead of them but I doubt the committee would be smart enough for that.
November 22nd, 2023 at 11:56 AM ^
Zero chance an undefeated, conference champ FSU gets left out in favor of a one loss, not-conference-champ.
November 22nd, 2023 at 11:58 AM ^
Agreed. Obviously there's a lot of SEC bias, but not even the CFP committee would leave out an undefeated ACC champ in favor of an SEC 1 loss non-champ.
November 22nd, 2023 at 12:03 PM ^
I understand your point but the committee has stated before that they take injuries into account when ranking teams. As much I hate it the committee will look for any excuse to get two SEC teams in.
November 22nd, 2023 at 12:11 PM ^
The fact is, if Alabama beats Georgia, and you have an undefeated b1g, p12, and ACC champ, plus a one loss Texas b12 champ, the SEC should be left completely out of the playoffs.
This is why a 7-4 ranked Tennessee, or a 9-2 top 12 ole miss matter. Because then the committee can point to those teams as reasoning for bumping the sec team ahead of the team that actually, you know, beat them on the field.
November 22nd, 2023 at 2:25 PM ^
Man, the paranoia here runs deep. Last year the committee put two Big Ten teams in, and only one SEC team. On what basis do you think they'll look for "any excuse" to put two SEC teams in?
Don't get me wrong. If there are only three undefeated teams at the end of the year and Alabama only has one loss, there's a small possibility Alabama could get in. (Especially because that would mean they beat Georgia). But no way they put Alabama (or Georgia) in over an undefeated FSU or Washington team. Never gonna happen. If you go undefeated in a major conference, you get into the playoffs.
November 22nd, 2023 at 2:57 PM ^
Last year OSU was the only one loss team in contention for the cfp. They had no other choice but to put OSU in. Bama, Tennessee, and Clemson had 2 losses, Utah and Kansas State had 3 losses. If Bama had one loss they would've gotten in over OSU. As I stated before a one loss Oregon was ranked higher than an undefeated FSU in the final CFP rankings based on FSU not looking impressive in their wins despite FSU having a 29 game winning streak. The committee has stated they will take injuries into account when rankings teams. Respectfully, please do your research.
November 22nd, 2023 at 12:07 PM ^
I think they'll add a 5th team next month so UGA and Bama don't get left out if Bama wins the SEC title game.
November 22nd, 2023 at 12:06 PM ^
If a 13-1 Texas is left out in favor of a 13-1 Alabama that they beat, that will defeat all the bitching people have done about Michigan's schedule the last two years. It'll show that it actually doesn't matter who you schedule or even beat. If the committee prefers you, you'll go in despite there being a head-to-head.
November 22nd, 2023 at 2:50 PM ^
I don't think FSU is a sure thing at all to get in if they win out out. Florida is a mediocre team that will ALSO be playing without their QB. And Louisville? They lost to Pitt. I think FSU must crush in the next 2 games to be assured of getting in.
November 22nd, 2023 at 12:13 PM ^
If FSU goes undefeated they are 1000% in. They would have beaten Florida on the road and then a top-10 Louisville team for the ACC championship.
November 22nd, 2023 at 12:41 PM ^
I have to think there's no chance they would leave Texas out at 13-1 with a win over Bama IN TUSCALOOSA.
Otherwise you'll immediately see every team cancel any power 5 non conference games, because why even play them at that point?
November 22nd, 2023 at 1:15 PM ^
No Texas? Alabama gets in over them? Oh wow.
November 22nd, 2023 at 11:56 AM ^
The CFP has always cooked the books for the SEC to try as hard as possible to get 2 SEC teams in. This will hopefully be fixed to some degree by the 12 team format.
November 22nd, 2023 at 1:23 PM ^
This will hopefully be fixed to some degree by the 12 team format.
Totally. Six spots for the SEC, and six for everyone else...
November 22nd, 2023 at 2:25 PM ^
Except last year, when it was two Big Ten teams.
November 22nd, 2023 at 11:58 AM ^
we are so close to a ranked UNLV
November 22nd, 2023 at 12:05 PM ^
Don’t mind Missouri as much because they look pretty good but the SEC sucks and it’s a joke Tennessee is ranked
November 22nd, 2023 at 12:09 PM ^
I've watched a little bit of Mizzou the past few weeks. They are tough team. It's good to see them doing well. That block M might have something to do with it too.