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Days Gone By: A look at the College Football Playoff Rankings

Oklahoma State fans have a valid complaint in this week's round of College Football Playoff rankings.

Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports

The College Football Playoff committee released their third round of rankings on Tuesday evening, and it was not without controversy. If you haven't had the chance to see the latest round of rankings, you can find them here.

Now that you've had the chance to digest the committee's take on this group of teams, we can begin to break down what the committee has shown us up to this point. I have no real issues with the way the teams are currently stacked up in spots 1-6. There is a lot of outrage on social media about Notre Dame and Iowa being ranked 4 and 5. I get it. Notre Dame hasn't beaten anyone, and neither has Iowa. I don't understand Oklahoma State being ranked behind these two teams, especially given the criteria that the committee is allegedly taking into account. The beautiful thing about this for Oklahoma State fans is win and you're in. If Oklahoma State goes 12-0, they will not be left out of the playoff. They just won't.

The problem I have with the way the current rankings are laid out is not with the top 6, but rather with the 10-25 spots.

  • Stanford (11) - How in the world is an 8-2 Stanford team one spot out of the top 10? Stanford lost 16-6 against Northwestern. In that game, Stanford was held to 240 total yards on offense. Does that sound like a top 10 team to you? Stanford was soundly beaten last weekend by Oregon in Palo Alto. The Cardinal made a late surge, but ultimately fell to the Ducks by two points at home. The problem I have with that? Oregon is 7-3. Stanford has no business being ranked 11, and the fact that they are gives me grievance in my next point.
  • TCU (18) - THE TCU HORNED FROGS ARE 9-1 AND RANKED 18TH. Are you kidding me? TCU's only loss came on the road to the committee's sixth-ranked team in the country. Last weekend, the Kansas Jayhawks gave TCU a run for their money in Fort Worth, BUT THEY WON. Here's what doesn't show up in the box score; TCU was without Trevone Boykin, who is arguably the most talented player in College Football, and also without Josh Doctson, one of the elite wide receivers in the land. If TCU goes to Norman and gets thumped by 21, they could very well fall out of the rankings, thus eliminating one of Oklahoma State's top 25 wins.
  • Ole Miss (22) - Ole Miss had a bye week this last weekend, which was coming off a loss at home to Arkansas. That loss to Arkansas puts Ole Miss at 7-3 on the season, with losses at Florida, at Memphis (who lost to Houston and stayed in the same spot) and at home to Arkansas. Somehow, after a loss and a bye week, Ole Miss jumps to 22 in the rankings.

I'm not sure anyone knows what the hell is going on with these rankings, and that includes the playoff committee. It's disappointing that this so called "solution to College Football's problem" is being determined by a group of 12 people in a room who have ties to these schools. I just wish Jeff Long would've stayed on the reveal show longer than two minutes to explain these travesties.