Joel Klatt fiercely calls out College Football Playoff committee for brand bias: 'Have a set and watch Indiana'

After the first College Football Playoff rankings came out Tuesday night, FOX Sports’ Joel Klatt called out the committee for brand bias. He specifically pointed to Indiana’s ranking in the initial Top 25.

Klatt disagreed with the CFP committee’s decision to rank Indiana at No. 8 in Tuesday’s rankings, saying the Hoosiers pass the “eye test” as they rattled off a 9-0 record to start the year. Committee chairman Warde Manuel cited strength of schedule as a reason Indiana wasn’t higher in the Top 25, but noted the committee is “high” on Curt Cignetti’s group on a post-rankings teleconference.

“Any blue blood with @IndianaFootball resume would be at worst #4,” Klatt wrote on X. “The disrespect to the Hoosiers is real!

If a team was to be in front of IU because of resume concerns, Klatt said BYU would make sense. The Cougars, he argued, have the ranked victories to present a case.

“The clear brand bias of CFP committee is striking,” Klatt wrote. “If you want to rank off eye test that is fine, but have a set and watch @IndianaFootball without bias…If you want to rank off resume then have a set and rank @BYUfootball higher than those that don’t touch their ranked wins.”

Indiana is off to its best start in program history at 9-0 and is looking to secure its first-ever 10-win season. But the Hoosiers’ strength of schedule is generating some questions. IU’s schedule ranks 103rd in the country through Week 10, according to ESPN’s FPI. However, that number moves to 14 for the Hoosiers’ final three games of the year – including a matchup against No. 2 Ohio State later this month.

Manuel explained the role strength of schedule played in the committee’s decision. However, he pointed out where Indiana ranks on both offense and defense to show how the group thinks of Indiana.

“I think the play and who they’ve played thus far, the performance of the teams ahead of them and how the committee evaluated them,” Manuel said. “Look, we think highly of Indiana. Again, dominant, dominant wins against the teams on their schedule, so we recognize that and also understand that they can only play who’s in front of them and who’s scheduled.

“Top-10 scoring defense only allowing 14 points per game, top-20 offense. They are just an impressive team. It does go into an evaluation of what we see but also who they play, and we look forward to seeing how they perform as the season progresses in the next four to five weeks.