Urban Meyer shares his surprises from latest College Football Playoff rankings

On Tuesday, the College Football Playoff selection committee revealed its latest rankings. However, not everybody agreed with the committee’s choices, including former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer. On Wednesday, Meyer revealed what surprised him about this week’s CFP rankings.

“You just don’t know, stock up, stock down, with Indiana, Miami and Notre Dame,” Meyer said. “What would happen if those three teams lined against Georgia and Ole Miss and Tennessee? That’s the question they have. You played the SEC, [Mark Ingram]. I’ve coached the SEC.”

Indiana, Notre Dame and Miami landed at No. 5, 6 and 7 respectively in the CFP rankings. Alabama was the only two-loss SEC team ranked higher than any of them, squeezing in at No. 7.

Meanwhile, the selection committee slotted Ole Miss, Georgia and Tennessee — in that order — directly beneath Miami. All three of those SEC programs also have two conference losses this season.

While Indiana, Notre Dame and Miami each boast better records than the three SEC teams, Meyer is far from convinced they would defeat the squads in head-to-head matchups. Urban Meyer dove deeper into his thoughts about each team.

“Indiana is a team that we have incredible respect for,” Meyer said. “We’ve covered them quite a bit. We got them this weekend. Notre Dame, I have not seen it in person live, but they lost to Northern Illinois. They beat teams they’re supposed to beat. They play Army this week.

“Then Miami, I’m just not sold, Mark. I’m not. I’m sold on their quarterback. You take that quarterback out of there, they’re .500. This guy’s a beast. I don’t know, but you asked me what caught my eye. Indiana, Miami and Notre Dame, and I see some teams behind them that I think if they played it would be different.”

Neither Indiana nor Miami have defeated a team this season that is currently ranked in the AP Top 25. Notre Dame has one win over a currently ranked opponent, with its season-opening victory against Texas A&M.

Nonetheless, Indiana will have a chance to pick up a season-defining win this weekend as it squares off against Ohio State. Notre Dame and Miami shouldn’t have any issues in their final two weeks of the regular season but no team is ever safe.

Before long, Meyer’s speculation about the CFP will no longer be necessary. The first round of the 12-team playoff will kick off on Dec. 20.