SI Confirms the Fears of Oregon Fans with the Playoff Rankings Process

[Charles Fischer]

Some very good points made in this article and the quote that bothers me the most...."the Ducks, despite a win at OSU, could be on the outside."

 

College Football Playoff Ranking Reaction: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly by Ross Dellenger of SI

The committee is sending mixed messages on the importance of head-to-head results.

 

[JDuck]

It won't matter if we don't win out.  We win out, we probably get in.  B1G has some big head-to-heads coming up, Big 12 as well.  Alabama could lose to Georgia (seems likely?) and Cincinnati, who knows...1-0 each week is a the right idea right now for us.  WSU will not be easy, I don't need to mention Utah.  The bark rats, at Autzen, revenge on our minds...I'm not as worried about that.  Beating Utah twice?

[30Duck]

There is this:

 

Oregon had probably the most impressive win,  with a 10 point victory at Washington in poor weather. But it wasn't enough to jump the Ducks over Alabama, which struggled at home in a one score victory over unranked LSU.

[Tandaian]

Way too many games to play the what if game, but it is fun.  Worst case for the Ducks:  Georgia loses to Alabama in the SEC championship game, so both are 12-1.  Oklahoma wins out and one of the B1G Ten teams finishes 12-1.  Cincinnati is NOT going to be ahead of a 12-1 P5 team or 11-1 ND.  Ducks 12-1 > 11-1 ND.  I'd say Ducks 12-1 > 12-1 Big 12 team as well as long as tOSU wins out.  If they lose a game, then that great win is that much less.

 

If Georgia beats Alabama, then the Ducks are for sure in if they win out.  A 2 loss Alabama team isn't getting in ahead of any 12-1 P5 champion.  I can't remember the last time everything "went according to plan" for the top 5 or 6 teams this early in November.

[DimpleDucks]

The CFP is all about sports politics, favorites and $$. Wins are just the prerequisites to get into the CFP 'talk'.

 

Head to head standings are only important if the 'right' teams (read mostly TV markets and networks) are considered, and the right teams might be goats offered to appease another team/conference down the line. A complete game can be anything the CFP wants it to be. It's all a big crap shoot on a weekly basis. 

[DUCKED]

Michigan jumping ahead of Michigan State is definitely not good news for Oregon. With that decision the committee has indicated head to head results are not a guarantee that the winner will obtain a higher ranking, even if their records are identical. So, don’t be at all surprised that, if Oregon and Ohio State both win out, the Buckeyes, who have a tougher schedule in the next three weeks, leapfrog the Ducks. 
 

Oregon having beaten Ohio State in Columbus definitely works in its favor, but several mediocre performances, and the shocking loss to Stanford in particular, will be a negative.