Ohio State stayed atop the College Football Playoff Rankings with the latest release, but there’s still plenty to discuss.
Each week, after the rankings are revealed, the College Football Playoff Committee holds a teleconference for select media members to answer questions about the discussions and process used to rank the teams into their respective slots.
We’re a part of those and we’d like to pass on what the Playoff Selection Committee Chair Rob Mullens had to say about Ohio State. So, here goes after the penultimate rankings …
On the overall comments from the selection committee on the Buckeyes:
Our next-to-final rankings are done. As you have seen, the committee ranked Ohio State as the No. 1 team in the nation, LSU as No. 2, Clemson as No. 3, and Georgia as No. 4. The top four teams did not change. There are many other changes that did take place, and I would be happy to discuss the committee’s thinking with you for all the teams that we ranked. Obviously this weekend’s conference championship games will be crucial to determining the final rankings. I, along with my fellow committee members, look forward to returning do Dallas in just a few days to watch those games and complete our work.
On how the committee measures performance on the field versus margin of victory.
Question from the media: You’ve talked before about how the committee
doesn’t incentivize margin of victory. The number one thing on the list is always performance on the field. How do you reconcile those two things? The best way to show a really strong performance on the field is to win by a lot of points. How does the committee figure that out?
ROB MULLENS: Watching how a team plays. Whether somebody has a big lead and keeps pouring it on late in the game is irrelevant. It’s really how you perform up until that point.
On measuring teams that play in conference championship games:
Question from the media: Having gone through this the last few years, on that last set of rankings, when you have to handle teams that lost, played an extra game and lost in their conference title games, are you mindful of how far they fall relative to teams that aren’t playing that week, or is it handled pretty much the same as any other week?
ROB MULLENS: Good question.
We are very mindful because they’re all division champs. It is an honor to play in the conference championship game. So we are mindful of what they’ve accomplished during the regular season.
On the committee’s different perception of LSU and Ohio State than the traditional polls:
Question from the media: What does the committee see is the difference between Ohio State and LSU that the writers and the coaches and the polls don’t?
ROB MULLENS: Two really, really good teams, first of all. That’s what the committee sees. Ohio State now with their impressive win over Michigan on the road has four wins over top-25 teams. LSU has three very impressive wins over top-25 teams. As we’ve talked in past weeks, both really have dynamic offenses, both have good defenses. Ohio State’s is just a little ahead at this point.
On comparing resume vs. the eye test:
Question from the media:You mentioned last week the committee thought Ohio State has more of an eye test compared to LSU, which had been No. 1 the week before. This week it sounds like the résumé in terms of top-25 wins accounts for a lot. As you get closer to the end, does résumé begin to count for a little bit more in terms of where you rank these teams?
ROB MULLENS: No, it all counts. I don’t think we said last week that one thing was more than another. I think, again, we said both those teams were very good teams. Obviously we recognize the wins against ranked opponents, the overall schedule strength, as well as how they’re performing on the field, offense, defense and special teams. Two great teams.
Next … Rankings timing and Ohio State vs. LSU
On playing a team twice in the season:
Question from the media:This isn’t the first time it’s happened, but Ohio State and Wisconsin are playing twice. How do you and the committee view beating the same opponent twice? Does it count as two wins, or is it just one because it’s the same team?
ROB MULLENS: Two wins. I mean, Wisconsin is a very good, highly ranked team. When you play them twice, it counts as two wins.
On measuring where and when teams are ranked:
Question from the media: Do you take quality of win in terms of the ranking of what the team is ranked at the end of the year? How do you view that? It’s obviously two different times, two different rankings.
ROB MULLENS: Sure. It’s two different locations. We’re aware of where the games are played. We watch the games. We’re aware of what was happening around the time they play. We take all those factors into
consideration.
More on comparing Ohio State against LSU:
Question from the media:You said last week that the committee viewed Ohio State as a more complete team than LSU because of defense. Is that still the way you see it after LSU had a strong defensive performance on Saturday?
ROB MULLENS: Yeah, we’re looking at the full résumé. That’s one piece of it. Ohio State also did strengthen their résumé with a road win at our No. 14 ranked team.
Question from the media: Are you comparing LSU and Ohio State head-to-head right now or is it Ohio State is clearly ahead because of the four wins and the better defense? Are you comparing them head-to-head right now?
ROB MULLENS: No. We’re looking at Ohio State, LSU, Clemson, they’re in that first grouping. We do that first grouping in groupings of three. We’re still discussing them in great detail.
