First Playoff Rankings Shock Fans, Fuel Controversy Over Alabama and Notre Dame

WHO:

Daily Mail Sports - The College Football Playoff committee released the opening rankings; undefeated Miami, Georgia, and undefeated Utah were listed among the top teams.

Fox News - Alabama was ranked No. 5 despite having two losses; Tennessee was also a two-loss team and had beaten Alabama a few weeks earlier, according to the article.

Fox News - Wake Forest was ranked No. 16. The article identifies Wake Forest’s coach as Jake Dickert and its wide receiver as Jack Foley.

Fox News - Zach Dean, an OutKick writer, wrote the article and said he was a “hardcore SEC guy” who believed the SEC was the best conference in college football.

Fox News Sports - Joel Klatt criticized the committee’s first top 25, saying his concern was not limited to any single team.

WHAT:

Daily Mail Sports - The committee’s first playoff rankings placed undefeated Miami first, Georgia second, and undefeated Utah third; the rankings beyond those top selections prompted confusion.

Fox News - The article called Alabama’s No. 5 ranking “absurd” and said the team had lost two of its previous three games.

Fox News - Wake Forest’s four most recent wins came by a combined 156 points. The article said Wake Forest nearly beat Miami earlier in the season and identified Louisville as Wake Forest’s one major win.

Fox News - The article said LSU was ranked two places above Wake Forest, had one more loss, and had no major wins; it named Kentucky and Ole Miss as LSU’s losses and Clemson, Mississippi State, and Texas A&M among its wins.

Fox News - The article said Miami was undefeated and had an impressive win over Wake Forest, while suggesting Miami could have lost to Florida State or North Carolina.

Fox News Sports - The article framed Klatt’s criticism as questioning whether the CFP ranking process was broken.

WHERE:

Fox News - Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer was pictured reacting during a game against Tennessee at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Fox News - Wake Forest’s game against Virginia was played at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

WHY:

Fox News - Dean said Alabama’s placement over Tennessee could reinforce claims of SEC bias in the committee’s rankings.

Fox News - Dean argued Wake Forest was underrated because it had dominated its opponents apart from Miami and had improved since nearly beating Miami.

HOW:

Fox News - Dean said the committee may have ranked Miami first because it was undefeated and had an impressive win over Wake Forest.

Fox News - The article quoted an unnamed speaker saying the SEC’s strength was due to quarterback play being “more steady” from top to bottom.

Undefeated Miami topped the College Football Playoff’s opening rankings, followed by Georgia and Utah. Two-loss Alabama ranked fifth, above Tennessee, renewing questions about possible SEC bias. Wake Forest landed sixteenth despite dominant wins, while analyst Joel Klatt criticized the rankings process.