AUBURN, AL. (EETV)—College Football Playoff Selection Committee Executive Director Rich Clark and Chair of the Selection Committee Warde Manuel spoke to an exclusive teleconference Tuesday. Following the release of the committee’s first official rankings since the introduction of the twelve-team playoff, the committee had this to say about the committee’s mission, two teams Auburn has faced, and one the Tigers will face.
Executive Director Clark opened the conference with the statement that the “committee’s mission has not [changed]... our job is to get [the rankings] right.” Clark explicitly stated the committee does not look at polls, previous seasons, or the media; rather, they focus exclusively on a team’s record, head-to-head matchups, strength of schedule, and results against “common opponents.”
Chairman Warde Manuel On Georgia…
“Georgia, very good team, great win against Texas, a win over Clemson. Consistency in terms of their offense. They've had some inconsistencies there, but they have great defense, and they're allowing only 17 points per game…"
On Vanderbilt…
“Vanderbilt is a very good team this year… [Alabama’s] loss to Vanderbilt on the road at Vanderbilt was something that we also looked at as well."
The committee admittedly did not have much to say about Vanderbilt and did not include them in their top 25- though they mentioned them a wide variety of times in reference to the powerful teams who have fallen to the Commodores.
On Alabama…
“[Ohio State] was very strong against the No. 1 team in our ranking, as compared to a loss by Georgia to Alabama. It was on the road, but it didn't have the same, I'd say, impressiveness that the Ohio State loss did because Alabama is ranked 11 in our poll… Tennessee has an impressive win over Alabama at No. 11…
We obviously view them as the highest ranked two-loss team at this time… the home win over Georgia was impressive. What they just did against Missouri, a 24th ranked Missouri team. The loss to Vanderbilt on the road at Vanderbilt was something that we also looked at as well as the road loss at Tennessee, but Tennessee is ranked No. 7. But they're top 20 in scoring. Obviously their defense is always solid, holding teams to less than 20 points per game. Those things impressed the committee, and in balance we felt it came out that they were ranked 11th.”
Unfortunately, Auburn did not come up in the meeting, as the Tigers’ admittedly abysmal season has led to many completely forgetting about them-- the committee is only focusing on the top 25 teams, after all. However, in light of Auburn’s close-fought loss at Georgia, one can look at the committee’s decisions and feel hope for the Tigers’ Iron Bowl matchup on November 30th.
