The first release of the College Football Playoff rankings on Tuesday has everyone talking, sparking debate over the committee’s choices and the implications for the inaugural 12-team playoff race. Jason Fitz of Fox Sports and Yahoo joined GoJo and Golic to share his reaction to the rankings.
For those who missed it, here is what the committee put out on Tuesday:
Mike Golic Jr. says that, having worked in sports talk for a little bit, he found himself having a hard time getting fired up about this first round of CFP rankings. But he knows that if anyone could provide a spark in talking about the committee’s selections, it would be Jason Fitz. Having covered the College Football Playoff committee for eight years, Fitz says he and GoJo should have a solid understanding of how the process works, joking that not grasping it at this point would be foolish. Mike Golic Sr. added that the first CFP rankings are all about positioning and is sure much will change over time as the season progresses. He emphasized that this initial placement reflects the committee’s view of each team, with BYU, for instance, standing out as a team whose ranking may shift based on their remaining schedule.
In the past, we might have looked at the first edition of the College Football rankings to see if what we can learn from the committee. However, Fitz believes that we have not learned much with this first set of rankings. Fitz expressed frustration with the lack of consistency in the committee’s decisions, suggesting they rely heavily on the eye test. He pointed out discrepancies, such as Army being ranked 25th, while other undefeated teams like BYU seem undervalued. Fitz also noted that the rankings appear to create clear paths for SEC teams like Ole Miss, Texas A&M and LSU, despite the conference’s tendency to cannibalize itself. He argued that it feels like the committee is setting up a path to keep multiple SEC teams in playoff contention.
GoJo says to him the first College Football Playoff rankings reveal how the committee views each conference, with the Big Ten emerging as the biggest winner. He highlighted Ohio State jumping ahead of Georgia as a notable move, essentially showing the committee values Ohio State’s close road loss to Oregon and win over Penn State more than Georgia’s strong second-half performance against Alabama and their dominant win over Texas. He added that the rankings, including high placements for teams like Tennessee and Penn State, reflect the committee’s respect for conferences with strong representation, which aligns with the math of having more top-tier teams. It should be noted that despite being No. 2 in these initial rankings, Ohio State is currently a +330 favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook to emerge from the CFP brackets victorious as the next national champion.
Senior wonders how much SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey and Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti are pleased with the current College Football Playoff rankings, which include four teams from each of their conferences, alongside representation from the ACC, Big 12, an independent and a Group of Five team from the Mountain West. While it may seem like the perfect setup now, Fitz questioned what happens when unexpected scenarios arise — like a lower-ranked team making an improbable run and becoming a bid thief like in March Madness. He imagined a scenario where a Big 12 team with a weaker schedule, such as Colorado, wins their conference championship and the accompanying automatic top four seed, potentially displacing a powerhouse like Alabama from the top 12. Similarly, Fitz points out that a Mountain West upset could complicate the Group of Five playoff picture. So, while the mega-conferences are content for now, Fitz suggested that chaos will ensue if a high-profile team is left on the outside looking in due to a surprise conference champion.
Fitz also delivered a hot take, questioning Georgia’s chances of making the College Football Playoff. With tough matchups ahead against Ole Miss and Tennessee, plus a potential SEC Championship game, he doubts their ability to navigate the challenges in front of them if their offense, especially Carson Beck and the run game, doesn’t improve. Despite their high ranking, Fitz sees a scenario where Georgia could be left out, wondering how it all went wrong.
With so much debate going on, Senior wonders how many two-loss teams can make the CFP. Fitz highlighted that while Alabama is currently the only two-loss team in the top 12, several others — like Texas A&M, LSU, Ole Miss or even Ohio State and Georgia — could end up with two losses and still stay in contention. He emphasized that Penn State, with just one loss and no conference championship game on their schedule, might not have to worry about picking up a second defeat, unlike other teams battling for top spots. Fitz concluded that the real cutoff seems to be three losses, saying you aren’t getting in with three losses but that he doesn’t think two losses are likely to prevent any team from getting in.
Watch or listen to the full show below and tune into GoJo and Golic weekday mornings from 8-10 a.m. ET on DraftKings Network! See more about how to watch DraftKings Network here.
SHOW BREAKDOWN
Hour 1: Jessica Smetana Breaks Down Initial CFP Rankings and Notre Dame’s Playoff Hopes + Caleb Williams, Matt Eberflus & The Chicago Bears Blame Game
VIDEO
Watch GoJo and Golic every weekday on Samsung TV Plus, Roku, Xumo Play, Google TV and DraftKingsNetwork.com from 8 to 10 a.m. ET. The show is also available via audio on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also follow Mike Golic Sr. on X at @golic and Mike Golic Jr. on X at @mikegolicjr.
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