The 2nd College Football Playoff rankings for 2020 looks pretty much like the first one at the top.  Somehow, we still have a committee deciding which teams should be ranked where.  There is an old saying that “a camel is a horse designed by a committee,” but, it is what it is, for now.  As the college football scene clumsily moves forward, the top teams continue to control the show.

NCAA Football Stays Alive

First place in the college football rankings is easy.  No one has beaten Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide all year and it is unlikely that anyone will, given the teams’ remaining opponents.  LSU is next, but they have fallen on hard times for now.  Actually, the Tigers have a good defense and the offense shows good potential for the future, but for now it’s Roll Tide.

Number 2, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and the Number 3 Clemson Tigers are a toss-up at this point and will have to wait until the ACC Championship game where they will most likely meet again.

Ohio State, at Number 4, has only played four games and their ranking in the top four is certainly debatable considering the current standard set by the Big Ten is a minimum of six games to be considered eligible to play in the Big 10 Conference Championship.  Whether or not that kicks them out of the top four remains to be seen.

One problem is that Number 5 Texas A&M Aggies have played seven games, and the Number 6-ranked Florida Gators have played 8 games, double that of OSU.  Add to that the much more difficult schedules that both the Aggies and the Gators have played this year, and it is easy to see why there will be quite a debate around this before December 20 arrives and the Final Four is made official, for better or for worse, by the committee.

COVID-19 Won’t Leave Football Alone

Of course, this is a crazy, convoluted football season because of the devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic that, unfortunately, is still with us.  Ohio State and the Big 10 had to cancel some games, but the football team is not to blame for that.

According to the ranking selection committee, the top four are the only ones that really matter and everybody else is just scrambled eggs, so here is a look at what is left.

In the Big 12, after the big upset when Iowa State beat Texas, Iowa State has moved up to the Number 9 spot while the Longhorns got booted out of the top 25 altogether.

Oklahoma stays at Number 11 after their matchup with West Virginia was postponed due to the Corona virus.

Oklahoma State made a huge move upwards to Number 15 after their over-the-top game with Texas Tech, which the Cowboys won is a shootout 50-44.

The Group Of Five Sticks Together

The ‘Group of Five’ continues to maintain a strong showing in the Top 25, with Number 7 Cincinnati, Number 13 Brigham Young, Number 18 Costal Carolina, Number 21 Marshall, Number 24 Tulsa and finally Number 25 Louisiana-Lafayette.

Out in the Pac-12, it is looking pretty grim since the Ducks of Oregon lost to rival Oregon State and fell down to the Number 23 spot. The only other Pac-12 teams in the top 25 are Number 20 Southern California and Number 22 Washington, both of whom are 3-0.

The Georgia Bulldogs are holding on at Number 8, representing the SEC after losing to the Florida Gators.  Still, that makes 4 SEC teams in the Top Ten.  Iowa State is Number 9, Miami Number 10, Oklahoma Number 11 and Indiana fell to Number 12 after putting up a valiant fight in a losing battle with Ohio State.