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Week 11 Anger Index: Outrage for BYU, Miami over CFP Rankings

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The College Football Playoff committee has released its first top 25 ranking of the season, which is the sport's version of Walmart opening its doors at midnight on Black Friday. Things are about to get ugly, and someone's going to end up bloodied while fighting Oklahoma for a spot in the top 12. In other words, it's the best time of year.

This year, the committee has said it is considering a new "record strength" metric, designed to provide some math-based guidance in the process and to soon replace "game control" as the country's most hated made-up statistic.

Ten weeks into a season filled with a lot of chaos and few seemingly great teams, however, the committee needs all the help it can get. For example, just eight teams in the country have already beaten more than one of the committee's current top 25 -- and one of those eight teams is NC State. Utah, Iowa, Oregon, Pitt, Washington, Missouri and Tennessee -- all ranked this week -- are a combined 0-12 against other teams in the committee's top 25. The ACC doesn't have a team ranked higher than 14th, and the Group of 5 doesn't have a team ranked at all, making these rankings less about the coveted top 12 than a need to be in the top 10.

In other words, there's a lot still in flux as we dive deeper into the final month of the season. But that means our anger toward the committee is just simmering for now, waiting for the rage to boil over in the weeks to come.

Still, a few schools have a pretty good case for outrage already.
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Written by David Hale

https://www.espn.com/college-footba...s-upset-college-football-playoff-ranking-2025

1. BYU Cougars (8-0, No. 7)

In all the hubbub over last year's final playoff rankings that left a trio of SEC teams out, what went overlooked was that BYU may have had more to be angry about than Alabama, Ole Miss or South Carolina. Two of those teams, at least, had taken a bad loss. Each of those teams had three losses. BYU, on the other hand, checked in on the committee's final ranking behind each of them despite a 10-2 record and two close losses to solid teams.

So, certainly the committee would feel some compassion for the Cougars this year and consider the Cougars with a bit more optimism, right?

Ah, no.

Let's take a look at some blind résumés.

Team A: No. 3 strength of record, No. 33 strength of schedule, 4-0 vs. SP+ top-40 opponents, best win vs. No. 11 in the committee's poll.

Team B: No. 4 strength of record, No. 45 strength of schedule, 3-0 vs. SP+ top-40 opponents, best win vs. No. 13 in the committee's poll.

Sure, Team A has a slight edge, but the résumés look pretty similar.

Well, Team A is the committee's No. 1 team, Ohio State. Surely, if another team's résumé looks more or less the same, that team would be staring down a bye in the first round of the playoff, right?

Nope. Team B is BYU, and the Cougars sit behind three SEC teams with a loss, all three of whom are ranked lower in ESPN's strength of record metric.

Given that BYU has a massive showdown with Texas Tech upcoming, perhaps the committee just punted on any tough decisions on the Cougars for this week. After all, given how much love the committee has shown the Big Ten in these rankings, punting would be a fitting play.
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2. Louisville Cardinals (7-1, No. 15)

We get it. As a conference, the ACC may, in fact, just be an episode of "Punk'd" that Ashton Kutcher started in 2008, then got distracted and forgot to let everyone know it was a prank. The conference's train wreck in Week 10 certainly showed up in these rankings -- more on that in a moment -- but it's almost as if the committee just threw Louisville into the mix, deciding the Cardinals were guilty by association.

Let's take another look at some blind résumés, shall we?
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Team A: No. 10 strength of record, No. 58 strength of schedule, one win vs. SP+ top 40, best win vs. committee's No. 13 team, lone loss vs. an unranked team.

Team B: No. 13 strength of record, No. 56 strength of schedule, three wins vs. SP+ top 40, best win vs. committee's No. 18 team, lone loss to committee's No. 14 team.

This is basically a coin flip, though given the additional wins vs. high-level opponents and a better loss, it'd be hard to argue against Team B, right? Add to that, Team B's lone loss came in double overtime in a game when it out-gained its opponent by 150 yards. Surely, you'd be on Team B's side now, right?

Well, not surprisingly, Team B is Louisville. Team A is Texas Tech, ranked seven spots higher at No. 8.
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3. Miami Hurricanes (6-2, No. 18)

There seems to be a desire to write Miami off because of two losses in the past three games, and given the strife the team seems to be enduring on offense, perhaps that's wise.

But two things are supposed to be true of the committee's evaluation process. One, the committee is not supposed to care when wins and losses happened. Losing in September isn't better than losing in November. A loss is a loss. Second, the committee is not supposed to make assumptions about the future. Sure, Miami's offense is a mess at the moment, but assuming that will result in future losses isn't part of the deal.

And yet, putting Miami at No. 18 -- eight full spots behind another two-loss team the Canes beat head to head -- can only be explained by the vibes. Notre Dame's season is rolling right along now. Miami has hit some stumbling blocks. Never mind the Canes are two late Carson Beck interceptions away from still being undefeated. Never mind that Miami has four wins vs. FPI top-35 teams, twice as many as any other two-loss team but Oklahoma. Never mind that Miami has that head-to-head against the No. 10 team in the committee's rankings or that it walloped a Florida team that took No. 5 Georgia to the wire and actually beat No. 11 Texas. Never mind that Miami beat a then-ranked USF by 37.

Instead, the committee has assigned Miami to the scrap heap now -- which is a shame, because Miami would probably have done this to itself anyway, and it's so much funnier when it happens in the last game of the season.

4. The Group of 5

5. SEC

Also angry: Virginia Cavaliers (8-1, No. 14, behind four two-loss teams), USF Bulls (6-2, unranked), Arizona State Sun Devils (6-3, unranked), Cincinnati Bearcats (7-2, unranked), Brian Kelly (just angry for other reasons).
 
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BigDikDaddyFromCincinnati said:
“which is a shame, because Miami would probably have done this to itself anyway, and it's so much funnier when it happens in the last game of the season.”

Brutal
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How a national writer can be considered unbiased and write that garbage is ******* beyond me. That line shows a blatant disdain for Miami. If I am UM he is black listed on campus for eternity.
 
The committee wants ND no matter what! If they lose another game it will be over anyway.
 
cookies said:
Written by David Hale

https://www.espn.com/college-footba...s-upset-college-football-playoff-ranking-2025

1. BYU Cougars (8-0, No. 7)



2. Louisville Cardinals (7-1, No. 15)





3. Miami Hurricanes (6-2, No. 18)

There seems to be a desire to write Miami off because of two losses in the past three games, and given the strife the team seems to be enduring on offense, perhaps that's wise.

But two things are supposed to be true of the committee's evaluation process. One, the committee is not supposed to care when wins and losses happened. Losing in September isn't better than losing in November. A loss is a loss. Second, the committee is not supposed to make assumptions about the future. Sure, Miami's offense is a mess at the moment, but assuming that will result in future losses isn't part of the deal.

And yet, putting Miami at No. 18 -- eight full spots behind another two-loss team the Canes beat head to head -- can only be explained by the vibes. Notre Dame's season is rolling right along now. Miami has hit some stumbling blocks. Never mind the Canes are two late Carson Beck interceptions away from still being undefeated. Never mind that Miami has four wins vs. FPI top-35 teams, twice as many as any other two-loss team but Oklahoma. Never mind that Miami has that head-to-head against the No. 10 team in the committee's rankings or that it walloped a Florida team that took No. 5 Georgia to the wire and actually beat No. 11 Texas. Never mind that Miami beat a then-ranked USF by 37.

Instead, the committee has assigned Miami to the scrap heap now -- which is a shame, because Miami would probably have done this to itself anyway, and it's so much funnier when it happens in the last game of the season.

4. The Group of 5

5. SEC

Also angry: Virginia Cavaliers (8-1, No. 14, behind four two-loss teams), USF Bulls (6-2, unranked), Arizona State Sun Devils (6-3, unranked), Cincinnati Bearcats (7-2, unranked), Brian Kelly (just angry for other reasons).
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Not wrong
 
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BigDikDaddyFromCincinnati said:
It’s also true, biased or not.
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Its unprofessional to openly remark you delight in the implosion of Miami on an annual basis. It also does not diminish the notion amongst the Miami fan base that the rest of the country is in on the fix and doesnt care if we are being blatantly cheated by the ACC. In fact these so called professionals take joy in fixed outcomes. Makes me ill that a so called professional does not incur some sort of penalty for displaying a blatant bias.

I dont care about the other bull**** it is all true. Just that final line about enjoying the annual implosion when it is in the final game of the year. That **** ****** just burns my *** cause I know the whole country ******* sees this bullsht and simply just laughs and points.

What's worse is anytime they catch a raw deal all throw ******* huge tantrum. Like Auburn which was a national ******* story. We get that treatment evey year all season in every game.

If any other team endured a single season watching the refs do to them what we get every season they would riot at the NCAA or conference head quarters.
 
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Kn[]_[]ckles3o5 said:
Its unprofessional to openly remark you delight in the implosion of Miami on an annual basis. It also does not diminish the notion amongst the Miami fan base that the rest of the country is in on the fix and doesnt care if we are being blatantly cheated by the ACC. In fact these so called professionals take joy in fixed outcomes. Makes me ill that a so called professional does not incur some sort of penalty for displaying a blatant bias.

I dont care about the other bull**** it is all true. Just that final line about enjoying the annual implosion when it is in the final game of the year. That **** ****** just burns my *** cause I know the whole country ******* sees this bullsht and simply just laughs and points.

What's worse is anytime they catch a raw deal all throw ******* huge tantrum. Like Auburn which was a national ******* story. We get that treatment evey year all season in every game.

If any other team endured a single season watching the refs do to them what we get every season they would riot at the NCAA or conference head quarters.
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I don't disagree with the premises you're talking about. Facts are, we do this A LOT and the rest of the country hates us. Look at all the upside down U's that all fans not wearing orange and green do. Doesn't matter if it's Notre Lame, SMU, or MTSU, they ALL do it. They do it becuase thier programs don't win and they take great pleasure in our demise. Does that make it ok for an internet sports writer to mock us too? I don't know. Is it unprofessional? I guess. I don't think those things seem to matter much anymore in our society. And it's a shame. So yeah, I hear what you're saying. Again, we did this to ourselves. Louisville didn't beat us. We beat ourselves throwing four picks and having a million penalties. Similar with SMU, but only 2 interceptions in that game. So when others see us lose to teams that we shouldn't lose to (over and over again), I can see why they laugh because they know if we were well coached, we would be in the playoffs and would be a real threat each year....and that's exactly what they fear.
Last thing. When you beat yourself time and time again as I mentioned, b!t.ching about refs and media bias is severely diluted. That was the point i my original comment.
 
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BigDikDaddyFromCincinnati said:
I don't disagree with the premises you're talking about. Facts are, we do this A LOT and the rest of the country hates us. Look at all the upside down U's that all fans not wearing orange and green do. Doesn't matter if it's Notre Lame, SMU, or MTSU, they ALL do it. They do it becuase thier programs don't win and they take great pleasure in our demise. Does that make it ok for an internet sports writer to mock us too? I don't know. Is it unprofessional? I guess. I don't think those things seem to matter much anymore in our society. And it's a shame. So yeah, I hear what you're saying. Again, we did this to ourselves. Louisville didn't beat us. We beat ourselves throwing four picks and having a million penalties. Similar with SMU, but only 2 interceptions in that game. So when others see us lose to teams that we shouldn't lose to (over and over again), I can see why they laugh because they know if we were well coached, we would be in the playoffs and would be a real threat each year....and that's exactly what they fear.
Last thing. When you beat yourself time and time again as I mentioned, b!t.ching about refs and media bias is severely diluted. That was the point i my original comment.
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Yea I guess my point is that all of our coaches have had this issue with penalties and bad calls like TOs that are/aren't, especially in crucial moments that swing momentum. Many move on and the problem magically disappears. For Mario he has a track record so its easier to dismiss and blame him for it.

Fact is that defenses are getting away with simulating the snap. We have complained about it and they dont care. DBs are mugging our WRs and getting away with it so Beck is throwing into tighter windows and is wasting time progressing through reads that are being interfered with. Bain and Mesidor are being lassoed and tackled and no calls are happening.

I believe its a lot easier to call a game when you believe its being called fairly. Having referees manipulate the momentum of a game wears on the psyche of players and coaches. Maybe Dawson is more conservative cause of the officiating. Maybe Hetherman is changing his calls because opposing teams are getting away with ****.

Biased officiating does more than effect the individual play, it affects every play after that until the correct call is made. If teams get away with **** they keep doing it until they get caught.
 
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