Joel Klatt attacks Alabama's College Football Playoff ranking

The first College Football Playoff rankings dropped Tuesday night, and reactions came in from all over. FOX analyst Joel Klatt was among the group that wasn’t pleased with where Alabama and Oregon fell in the CFP Top 5.

The CFP listed Georgia, Alabama, Michigan State and Oregon as its top four. Ohio State and Cincinnati checked in at No. 5 and No. 6, respectively — despite the fact that Cincinnati hasn’t lost a game yet this year.

Klatt didn’t hold back when discussing the rankings on The Herd with Colin Cowherd on Wednesday.

“It’s pretty clear that the committee … clearly just has this ranking in the top four, five or six, and then they’re just going to make it work behind it and they’re going to include teams in certain spots in order to make what they created at the top work,” Klatt said. “I don’t think that’s good for the sport.”

Later on, Klatt brought up how Mississippi State is ranked 17th while Penn State isn’t ranked at all. After all, Penn State controlled the game during its loss to Iowa until it lost quarterback Sean Clifford. Mississippi State, meanwhile, lost to 4-4 Memphis.

But, he argued, the committee ranked the Bulldogs at No. 17 to help Alabama look better so the Crimson Tide can be ranked in the top four.

“So they’re including Mississippi State at 17,” Klatt said. “Why? So they can legitimately put Alabama at No. 2, so it makes their resume look better, which is fine. It’s just flawed.”

Klatt ponders a ‘what-if’: What if Texas A&M beat Mississippi State?

Klatt later compared Alabama’s ranking to Ohio State’s. The Buckeyes, remember, lost to Oregon at home early in the season. The Crimson Tide, meanwhile, lost to Texas A&M — which is ranked 14th in the CFP — last month. But because they beat No. 17 Mississippi State, Klatt argued, they’re the No. 2 team in the country.

He went on to ask what would’ve happened if Texas A&M would’ve beat Mississippi State and how that would change things.

“Alabama’s getting the benefit of losing to a lesser team than Ohio State,” Klatt argued. “Here’s why. Because if Texas A&M, let’s say, had beaten Mississippi State when their quarterback was struggling and they were a one-loss team, as well. Then now, all of a sudden, we’ve got to put Alabama below Texas A&M because we saw that game.

So Alabama would be, like, sixth based on no happening of their own accord, but just because Texas A&M would be a like-branded team. So because Texas A&M is worse, then Alabama gets the benefit of the doubt.”