Headlines
Vassallo: Politics Alive and Well in College Football
Photo by Joshua McCoy, Ole Miss Athletics
I am still in disbelief following last night’s vote of the first College Football Playoff rankings by the selection committee. In case you missed it, the committee picked Clemson, LSU, Ohio State and Alabama.
Yes, you read it correctly: Alabama. It’s easy to understand the first three, but Alabama…really! Bama is presently seventh in the AP Poll.
Here’s my take. Snubbing TCU and Baylor again is one thing, but overlooking the other undefeated teams such as Michigan State and Iowa is another. And the committee blowing off of Florida is most questionable. The Gators defeated 7-2 Ole Miss by 28 points while Bama lost to the Rebs in Tuscaloosa. And the Gators’ only loss was on the road to the committee’s number two LSU. You figure.
True, there are other games to consider. However, it always seems Bama gets the benefit of the doubt…always!
In essence, what the committee did was preempt the SEC championship to ensure Bama gets into the playoffs with a victory over LSU. By voting them in now, how could the committee possibly
not select the Tide following a win over its chosen number two team?
Their worst fear of Ole Miss winning the SEC title (or even Florida for that matter) has now been taken off the board. Mercy!
Of course what could derail the committee’s bias would be an unthinkable loss by Bama to either State or Auburn, assuming they get past LSU. However, should the scheme work, the balance of the SEC bowl teams will be left to fight for the leftovers with the SEC title holder and runner-up (should Bama be excluded from Atlanta) with the Peach, Sugar and Citrus all in play.
The only hope for Ole Miss is to win out thereby bypassing LSU in the wake along with Florida in the possible rematch. After all Sugar is sweet, but the politics of college football sours today in 2015 even more so than the CNBC moderators.
Steve Vassallo is a HottyToddy.com contributor. Steve writes on Ole Miss athletics, Oxford business, politics and other subjects. He is an Ole Miss grad and former radio announcer for the basketball team. Currently, Steve is a highly successful leader in the real estate business who lives in Oxford with his wife Rosie. You can contact Steve at sovassallo@gmail.com or call him at 985-852-7745.
| Mon, Nov 4 |  | vs Long Island University | W, 90-60 |
| Fri, Nov 8 |  | vs Grambling | W, 66-64 |
| Tue, Nov 12 |  | vs South Alabama | W, 64-54 |
| Sat, Nov 16 |  | vs Colorado State | W, 84-69 |
| Thu, Nov 21 |  | vs Oral Roberts | L, 100-68 |
| Thu, Nov 28 |  | vs BYU | W, 96-85 OT |
| Fri, Nov 29 |  | vs 13 Purdue | L, 80-78 |
| Tue, Dec 3 |  | @ Louisville | W, 86-63 |
| Sat, Dec 7 |  | vs Lindenwood | W, 86-53 |
| Sat, Dec 14 |  | vs Southern Miss | W, 77-46 |
| Tue, Dec 17 |  | vs Southern | W, 74-61 |
| Sat, Dec 21 |  | vs Queens University | W, 80-62 |
| Sat, Dec 28 |  | @ Memphis | L, 87-70 |
| Sat, Jan 4 |  | vs Georgia | W, 63-51 |
| Wed, Jan 8 |  | @ 23 Arkansas | W, 73-66 |
| Sat, Jan 11 |  | vs LSU | W, 77-65 |
| Tue, Jan 14 |  | @ 5 Alabama | W, 74-64 |
| Sat, Jan 18 |  | @ 17 Mississippi State | L, 81-84 |
| Wed, Jan 22 |  | vs 13 Texas A&M | L, 62-63 |
| Sat, Jan 25 |  | @ Missouri | 5:00 PM SECN |
| Wed, Jan 29 |  | vs Texas | 8:00 PM ESPN2 |
| Sat, Feb 1 |  | vs 2 Auburn | 3:00 PM TBA |
| Tue, Feb 4 |  | vs 10 Kentucky | 6:00 PM ESPN |
| Sat, Feb 8 | | @ LSU | 7:30 PM SECN |
| Wed, Feb 12 |  | @ South Carolina | 6:00 PM SECN |
| Sat, Feb 15 | | vs 17 Mississippi State | 5:00 PM TBA |
| Sat, Feb 22 |  | @ Vanderbilt | 2:30 PM SECN |
| Wed, Feb 26 | | @ 2 Auburn | 6:00 PM TBA |
| Sat, Mar 1 |  | vs 12 Oklahoma | 1:00 PM TBA |
| Wed, Mar 5 |  | vs 1 Tennessee | 8:00 PM TBA |
| Sat, Mar 8 |  | @ 6 Florida | 5:00 PM SECN |
Frank
November 4, 2015 at 6:40 pm
We really just need to worry about winning out! The Memphis game really screwed OM up big time. Oh well hope Bama takes care of LS Pue and we can run the table. Did I mention we need to kick State’s ASS?
Jerry Case
November 5, 2015 at 8:24 am
This is just the first CFP ranking. Will probably bear little resemblance to final rankings. It will work itself out with big games yet to come. If Ole Miss wins out and Bama runs table, the Rebs will still get a nice bowl. If they lose out, not so much. If both OM and State win out to Egg Bowl, the earth will shake. With LSU coming to Oxford and Bama to Starkville, road to SECWC definitely runs through Mississippi.