Joel Klatt: CFP rankings method takes away incentives for tough schedules

Ever since the College Football Playoff Rankings were released ahead of Week 10, each team’s strength of schedule compared to their ranking has not lined up.

Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt isn’t a fan of this and how the committee is ranking the top teams in the country as the regular season begins to wind down. He explained how their selection philosophy will hurt college football in the long run if they continue down this path ahead of the CFP’s expansion.

“When the committee does this, and they just say your record is the main thing, regardless of schedule,” Klatt said on his weekly podcast. “They’re telling everybody to stop scheduling anybody in the non-conference because the fact is the way that this committee is doing this. … If we continue to do this and rank teams like this, take the path of least resistance and just rank them in their record pods — there are some unintended consequences down the line.

“Namely, look at Georgia and look at Michigan. They have played nobody. They’ve got really easy schedules. Now, that’s changing here in November. Both of these teams, the teeth of their schedule are going to be from this point moving on, and we’ll see if they’re able to play through that, but in the non-conference, they didn’t do anything.”

Of course, Georgia was supposed to play Oklahoma before 2024’s incoming conference realignment was announced and erased a marquee game for the Bulldogs. It isn’t the same case for the Wolverines, but with both teams’ schedules heating up in November, this could be the norm in college football moving forward based on how the CFP committee is selecting its teams this season.

“And you could ask me like, well, wouldn’t that go away in the 12-team playoff? Well, probably not because if we’re just going to incentivize record over everything else, all we’re going to do is move the line down from between four and five to between 12 and 13. So now, instead of being like, ‘Well, are you undefeated? Or do you have one loss? Do you have one loss or two losses?’ It’s going to be, do you have three or four losses?”

Once the Super Conferences of 2024 take shape following conference realignment, some of the best teams in the country could have three league losses and still make the CFP. Why chance another loss when you can control the opponent you face?

“When you take the path of least resistance and you rank teams just based on their record and not based on their resume, then what you’re inviting is easier non-conference schedules,” Klatt continued. “Because if I’m a coach right now, anywhere in the country, I’m calling my AD after this one after these [rankings] got released. Pull every difficult game off my non-conference immediately. Buy out of the games immediately.

“I’m hoping that’s not the case — but that looks to be what’s going to happen here in the future unless we figure out a different way.”

And what’s the way to fix this?

Klatt suggested that everyone plays an even schedule throughout the country, but that is likely harder to do than it looks on the surface. So, until the CFP committee shifts its ranking philosophy, nothing is likely to change.