Clemson Football: Ranking College Football resumes after Week 8

This is the current Resume Top 25:

1. Clemson: 36.25 – 8.25 resume points clear of second place. This is by no means a guarantee for the CFP committee, however. For example, Tennessee, Georgia, and TCU all have wins against Top 10 competition. Wake Forest just slips into the Top 10 this week. Will the committee consider Clemson’s win over the Deacons the same way they look at Tennessee’s win over the Crimson Tide? It all depends on how the committee weighs all the factors. Like I said earlier, my system for rating resumes doesn’t mean squat to the committee, but since the most points a team can earn would be for a Top 25 win on the road, and the closest team that has that opportunity next weekend (Ohio State) is over eight points behind, Clemson appears to be a lock to be at the top of my resume rankings after next weekend.

T2. TCU: 28 – The Horned Frogs may not have the reputation of some of the other big programs, but they have taken the schedule they’ve been handed and done the most with it. A couple of their opponents from earlier in the season fall out of the rankings? No sweat, TCU just beats more. Two ranked wins in the past two weeks have them in a strong position.

T2. Georgia: 28 – The Bulldogs do have the reputation. They are defending national champions. That means nothing to the resume score, but it will mean something to the committee, whether it should or not. Unless something very unexpected happens at the World’s Largest Cocktail Party this weekend, I have little doubt that Georgia will be #1 in the first CFP rankings.

T4. Michigan: 25 – Michigan had a bye last weekend, so no changes to their score. They are still in good shape, but the glitzy Buckeye offense will likely land the Wolverines with the 2nd best CFP ranking from a Big Ten team.

T4. Tennessee: 25 – Tennessee followed up the biggest win for the program in the 21st century by running trick plays against UT Martin, which earned them a big whopping resume point. They also gained an extra point when LSU re-entered the Top 25. Tennessee hosts Kentucky next weekend, who might drop out of the rankings if Tennessee embarrasses them. The question here for the committee is exactly how much weight does the win over Alabama push the Volunteers?

6. Alabama: 24 – Their Ala-freakin-Bama y’all. They might not be Top 4, but they will be close. Like Clemson, the Tide is on a bye this weekend.

7. Ole Miss: 23 – Well the oddsmakers do know a thing or two, don’t they? The line in the Ole Miss at LSU game seemed a bit odd until the Tigers put the hurt on the Rebs. Ole Miss can recover, but the showdown with Daddy Bama looms.

8. Ohio State: 22 – Still the lowest resume score of the AP Top 5 teams, the Buckeyes are slowly but surely catching up as other programs run into first losses. Next weekend they have an opportunity for the crown jewel of resume builders: a chance to defeat an AP Top 25 on the road. Assuming Penn State doesn’t completely fall out of the rankings, Ohio State’s resume score would be 30 if they get the win.

T9. Penn State: 21 – The Nittany Lions are ranked #13 in this week’s poll. While it is conceivable that they could fall out of the rankings if they lose to Ohio State, it isn’t likely. On the other hand, if they shock the world and beat the Buckeyes, they will likely find themselves in the CFP Top 10.

T9. USC: 21 – USC has the PAC-12 right where they want them. While Oregon carries the pressure of being the team with a target on their back, the Trojans simply must maintain course until they face UCLA. If they win that one, they get their shot at Oregon. It’s still too far off to know if a one-loss PAC team can get into the Top 4 at the end of the season, but the Trojans have a definable path.

11. Oregon: 20.75 – The story is the same for Oregon: if they win when they should, then beat Utah, they also get a shot at a PAC championship. If they were to win it, they would be on a 12-game winning streak, and that blowout loss in Atlanta to the Georgia Bulldogs would seem like years ago.

T12. North Carolina: 20 – Don’t sleep on the Tar Heels. Their defense may not be much to behold, but a 10-9 victory and a 54-53 victory both amount to the same thing. They aren’t a lock – they still must play Wake Forest, Pitt, and NC State – but everyone else in the division already has two losses. They would have to lose at least two ACC games for anyone to have a shot at this point.

T12. Tulane: 20 – Things seemed dicey for the Green Wave at times Saturday but they pulled it out against Memphis. Here’s the hard part for Tulane: they really can’t gain any ground now unless teams ahead of them start losing. They are into the heart of their conference schedule, which means one thing for G5 teams: all their opponents are G5. Beating G5 teams doesn’t get you as many resume points as beating P5 teams.

T14. Wake Forest: 18 – The blight on Wake as an AP Top 10 team is that they have no wins against teams currently ranked in the Top 25. Many would say their overtime loss to Clemson was their best performance of the season. They do have NC State, North Carolina, and Syracuse left on their schedule, not to mention Louisville and Duke, who both have overall winning records. If they win, it’s a great schedule to boost their resume. Will they win? That’s always the question for Wake. They always seem to stumble at some point.

T14. Liberty: 18 – The Flames from out of nowhere! How did this happen? Simple, I forgot to rank them until this week. Go ahead and say it: “You suck, Chancey.” I had one job. I have several jobs actually, but I just plain whiffed on adding the independents outside of Notre Dame and BYU to my spreadsheet. Morgan Thomas would be very disappointed in me, so do me a favor and keep it quiet.

T16. Oklahoma State: 17 – Many teams get up for a big game, lose that game and then have a letdown the following week. While some expected this from the Cowboys, they probably underestimated how much beating the Texas Longhorns matters to regional teams like Oklahoma State. A road trip to Manhattan (KS) awaits.

T16. UCLA: 17 – Not all is lost for the Bruins just because they lost to the Ducks. If they beat USC, they win the division and likely get a chance at revenge in the PAC-12 championship.

18. LSU: 16.5 – This team is in the hunt for the “Yo-yo team of the year” award for 2022. One week they look completely lost and the next look like a solid SEC West contender. Which will we get from week to week? Flip a coin.

T19. Kansas State: 16 – With Kansas and Texas having dropped league games, KSU is the third team in the hunt for a spot in the Big 12 championship. They will need to get healthy at quarterback to have a chance.

T19. Illinois: 16 – The Illini were on a bye, so no changes to their score. They are still in the driver’s seat in the Big Ten West, but they can’t slip up.

T20. Syracuse: 15 – Not all is lost for the Orange, not by a longshot. They are bowl eligible for only the second time in Dino Baber’s tenure, and they get a chance to host Notre Dame this weekend. If chalk flies, Syracuse is likely to finish with 10 wins in the regular season.

T20. Maryland: 15 – The Terps beat Northwestern. They have become slightly more fearsome.

T20. Oregon State: 15 – They beat Colorado, which isn’t incredibly impressive, but they did win by 33 points, which is what you should do in your own house if you are worth your weight.

T20. Washington: 15 – Similarly, the Huskies went on the road and got the modest win against Cal, which is what you should do on the road if you think you should be considered for ranking at some point.

25. Cincinnati: 14 – The Bearcats finally squeaked into the Resume Top 25 and are spared the criticism I normally reserve for them being over-ranked by the AP. Enjoy your respite Cincinnati, you’ve earned it!