College Football Playoff Poll Releases Tonight

Forget everything you have seen in the AP top 25 poll and Coaches’ Poll. After tonight, those no longer matter–Actually, the two polls never truly mattered. Tonight, the college football committee (comprised of former head coaches, current athletic directors and presidents of universities) will release their first playoff poll of the season.

For reference, the final AP poll’s top ten of the season looked like this:

1. Alabama
2. Georgia
3. Ohio State
4. Wisconsin
5. Notre Dame
6. Clemson
7. Penn State
8. Oklahoma
9. Miami
10. TCU

How The Committee Determines Ranking

It is year four of the playoff committee’s existence, and the method is not like the AP poll. Unlike the AP poll, it goes much deeper than wins and losses. For example, the committee takes into account who the team beat and how valuable the win truly is. Top ranked Alabama faced off against Florida State, who was ranked third in the nation at the time, in week one. The Crimson Tide’s 24-7 win over FSU was impressive, but now it may not hold as much value. The AP poll considered the win as valuable and thus kept Alabama at number one. However, it may not be seen that way now and could result in Georgia leap-frogging Alabama for the top team in the country.

What If?

There are many scenarios that have been created regarding the playoff selections, but there is one that stands out. Given that Alabama and Georgia remain the cream of the crop, then hypothetically, Notre Dame and Penn State find themselves in the top four to end the regular season, does that impact the amount of teams in the playoff moving forward? With two SEC teams, a Big Ten and an independent team, many leagues are left out. Coaches have suggested the committee expands the playoff to as many as 16 teams. Head coach of Washington State, Mike Leach, even believes it should hold 64 teams. While it could be years before a change in structure takes place, hypotheticals such as that one could expedite the expansion process.

How To Watch

When: 7:30 p.m.

Where: ESPN