Clemson Football: Ranking College Football resumes after Week 6

There are only three more weekends before the College Football Playoff committee announces its first Top 25. Clemson football continues to make a strong resume argument why it should be in the conversation for a playoff spot.

Following six full weekends of football, we are starting to see the resumes of the top teams start to sync with the AP Top 25. Some of the teams that were over-ranked have dropped a few games, and the teams that should have been ranked higher are getting better wins now that they are playing Power Five teams instead of Group of Five and FCS exclusively.

The AP Top 5 are the same teams, just in a different order.

#1 Georgia – Resume score: 23

Georgia returns to the #1 spot in the AP poll after a one-week absence but falls to third in the resume rankings. The Bulldogs had a solid win over Auburn, but home wins don’t earn the same kind of credit as road wins. Georgia will have the chance to pad their resume over the final five weeks of the season, so if they are still getting the benefit of a great eye test, then they are in a good position.

#2 Ohio State – Resume score: 19

Nobody benefits from reputation and eye test more than Ohio State. They just got their first road win of the season in Week 6, and they have been rewarded by the AP voters by being bumped ahead of Alabama. Ohio State only has three more road games and only two more ranked teams on their regular season schedule. Ohio State is in a good position if they keep winning, but if they lose a regular season game, their resume will hurt their chances of qualifying for the playoff with a loss.

#3 Alabama – Resume score: 24

The Crimson Tide had a close game at home against the Texas A&M Aggies, and it hurt their eye test. As a result, they have fallen from #1 to #3 in the AP Poll. When it comes to resume, Alabama passed Georgia for the 2nd best score. There is one main reason: Texas is ranked again following their shutout of Oklahoma. Bama’s win over the Longhorns was already good because it was a road win, and now it is a road win over a Top 25 team.

#4 Clemson – Resume score: 26.25

The example of 2022 Clemson is good for justifying the argument that even after eight full seasons with a playoff committee that typically focuses on resumes, the AP voters still tend to base their votes on pre-conceived notions and eye tests. Clemson defeated two AP Top 25 teams in Weeks 4 and 5, but it wasn’t until Michigan had a dull first half against Indiana that the AP voters decided to move the Tigers ahead of the Wolverines.

#5 Michigan – Resume score: 21

There are a lot of people who are trashing Michigan right now as a team that never should have been ahead of Clemson at any point this season because they never had the resume to justify their ranking. Those people are right. The question now is why aren’t those same people calling out Ohio State? The Buckeyes have an even worse resume, and the Wolverines beat them last season. Fortunately for Michigan, they are in the same situation as Ohio State: if they keep winning, which includes beating OSU for a second season, they will be fine.