Oklahoma football coach Lincoln Riley has some suggestions for the College Football Playoff selection committee. The rankings for the postseason release once a week from the beginning of November until the end of the season, but Riley believes there is a better approach to take that could improve the entire system.
According to Riley, whose Sooners are ranked at No. 10 in the latest rankings, the selection committee should hold off on releasing the College Football Playoff rankings until the end of the season.
“I know why they do it,” Riley said, via 247 Sports. “They do it to build it up and TV and all that, and I get it from that perspective. But, to me, they shouldn’t do the playoff rankings until [the end]. They should just show them at the very end, and here’s who’s going, because who cares right now? You’ve got all the biggest and best games. You’ve got all the conference championship games. I mean, nobody knows.
“And so that’s how I’ve looked at it. I’ve looked at it that way the last several years, and we’ve lost a game in the middle of the year and everybody’s told me, ‘Well, you ain’t going to the playoff now and no way this happens.’ [I respond], ‘OK, just keeping winning.’ You know, and that’s what you’ve got to do.”
It makes sense for Riley to take this stance — especially since his Sooners took a brutal loss to Kansas State earlier in the season but could still end up winning the Big 12 Championship. As a conference champion, Oklahoma would deserve a shot at one of the top four spots. However, with the way the system is currently set up, it may be too much for them to overcome.
The Sooners will look to continue to build on their resume this weekend against the No. 12 Baylor Bears in a crucial Big 12 clash.
A full look at the rankings for games played through November 9 can be seen below.
- LSU (9-0)
- Ohio State (9-0)
- Clemson (10-0)
- Georgia (8-1)
- Alabama (8-1)
- Oregon (8-1)
- Utah (8-1)
- Minnesota (9-0)
- Penn State (8-1)
- Oklahoma (8-1)
- Florida (8-2)
- Auburn (7-2)
- Baylor (9-0)
- Wisconsin (7-2)
- Michigan (7-2)
- Notre Dame (7-2)
- Cincinnati (8-1)
- Memphis (8-1)
- Texas (6-3)
- Iowa (6-3)
- Boise State (8-1)
- Oklahoma State (6-3)
- Navy (7-1)
- Kansas State (6-3)
- Appalachian State (8-1)
About the College Football Playoff: The College Football Playoff matches the No. 1 seed vs. No. 4, and No. 2 vs. No. 3 in semifinal games that rotate annually among six bowl games – the Goodyear Cotton Bowl, PlayStation Fiesta Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Capital One Orange Bowl, Allstate Sugar Bowl and Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual. This season’s Playoff Semifinals will take place Saturday, December 29, 2018, at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic and Capital One Orange Bowl. The College Football Playoff National Championship will be Monday, January 7, 2019, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.