On one hand, Tennessee can celebrate its second top 10 finish in three years, the first time the Vols did that since 1999 through 2001. However, their No. 9 ranking in the final AP Poll exposes a level of laziness in voters only seen in the college basketball rankings and not one to celebrate.
UT dropped two spots from its ranking before the bowl season/College Football Playoff after closing the year with a 42-17 loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes. The two teams who moved ahead of them were the Arizona State Sun Devils, who finished No. 7, and the Boise State Broncos, who finished No. 8.
All voters did was base their ranking off how far teams went in the CFP.
Seriously, how could you so easily say Boise State and Arizona State deserve to be ahead of the Vols? All three teams lost their inaugural CFP game. Tennessee’s loss was to the eventual national champions, and they were the only team to lose on the road rather than a neutral site.
When you combine that with the fact that the Vols entered the playoff ahead of them, there’s no way you could say they deserved to finish ahead of Tennessee. At least you could make a case for Arizona State by saying they put up a fight in their one CFP game, losing to the Texas Longhorns in overtime. The other factors are too overwhelming, though.
Boise State, on the other hand, was blown out by the Penn State Nittany Lions, just as Tennessee was by OSU. Their blowout loss was on a neutral field while UT’s was on the road, and it was to a team that didn’t go as far. How, then, if it was the first CFP game for both of them, could Boise State leapfrog the Vols in the final poll?
Well, Boise State and Arizona State had first-round byes, so technically, they went furhter.
Never mind the fact that both programs were behind Tennessee in the actual CFP rankings. Never mind the fact that they only got those byes because of the automatic bids for conference champions. Never mind what actually happened in the playoff. How far a team went is directly correlated with where they finished in a poll that has no bearing on the CFP.
This final ranking is a tactic employed in college basketball. Cinderellas who make the Sweet 16 are automatically given top 25 finishes, those who make the Elite Eight are automatically given top 10 finishes, and Final Four teams are given top five finishes. How easy their road to get there was never comes into play.
Such a level of laziness, though, is why media voters have lost their credibility. Once upon a time, AP voters wielded all the power over college football. Now, they have no say in the CFP rankings. That’s a good thing given how lazy they are, but it’s also sad because of what they gave up.
