The second installment of this year’s college football rankings has been released, and in the SEC, the conference is still holding strong and looking to capture five bids by the end of the regular season. There’s just one issue, though: Why isn’t Texas A&M ranked No. 1?
The Aggies Belong at the Top of the CFP Rankings
A&M’s Strength of Schedule Should Propel Them Above the BIG Ten’s Best
Texas A&M’s dominance through the first nine weeks of this season isn’t getting talked about enough nationally. They’ve won six out of their nine games so far by more than 10 points, and the only three where they didn’t were against the current No. 8-ranked Notre Dame, an Auburn team that has a great defense, and a scrappy Arkansas team at their home stadium. That’s just the close wins; outside of that, it’s been pure decimation.
A&M has demolished through the rest of the SEC so far, including a 31-9 win over Mississippi State, a 31-17 win over Florida, and a 49-25 road win in Death Valley against LSU. Say what you want about this year’s LSU group and how their season has gone, Death Valley is still one of the hardest environments to get a win at, and A&M left no doubt.
Who are Ohio State’s and Indiana’s Best Wins?
It’s clear through nine weeks of college football that the top of the BIG Ten is elite, led by Ohio State and Indiana, and it’s needless to say that Ohio State is the clear favorite to win the National title as it stands today. This doesn’t mean that they should be ranked No. 1 in the country, though; this isn’t a power ranking, this is a ranking based on what each team has done so far and who they’ve done it against, it’s who has the best resume.
Ohio State’s best win is who? Texas in week 1 of the season? When they couldn’t figure it out on offense, and Arch was missing open throws? Texas has risen as the season has continued, but in the first four weeks of their season, they were playing disoriented football, and Ohio State won by seven points at home.
Outside of that Texas win, who else is there? Penn State’s stock has gone down the gutter since firing James Franklin. Illinois was ranked 17th in the country at the time of its win, but has since lost again to a solid Washington team. Illinois has also given up over 27 points five times this season since week three, showing that Ohio State’s offense isn’t the only one to light them up.
Then there’s the Indiana Hoosiers, who have been a marvelous story with Coach Curt Cignetti and quarterback Fernando Mendoza. The Hoosiers could argue that they have a better resume than Ohio State does as well, but it’s still not the resume of Texas A&M.
The Hoosiers’ best two wins are Oregon, whom they defeated 30-20, and the Iowa Hawkeyes, who they defeated 20-15. While the Hawkeyes are a tough-nose team that makes games messy, they have three losses at present. No doubt that those two wins are impressive, but look at the rest of their schedule. Other opponents to the now 10-0 Hoosiers include Old Dominion, Kennesaw State, Indiana State, Maryland, and Penn State. The marquee wins are there for Indiana, but the rest of the schedule could not be more favorable and isn’t comparable to an SEC schedule when it comes to the depth of their schedule.
A&M Should Be Rewarded For Its Road Success
Not only is A&M undefeated, but their three best wins are all in enemy territory, highlighted by their week three victory over the now No. 9-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish. This win really catapulted their run up to this point, a high-scoring night game where A&M was met with real adversity and responded like a championship-caliber team does, by scoring a game-winning touchdown on fourth down with 13 seconds left on the clock.
Fast forward to the last two weeks, the Aggies secured dominant wins and completed the tiger trilogy on their schedule, beating Auburn early in the season, and now coming off two wins against the LSU and Missouri Tigers.
Simply put, if consistent road success and strength of schedule don’t put Texas A&M at No. 1 in the College Football Playoff rankings, what will?
Main Image: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images
