The Indiana Hoosiers (9-0, 6-0) were ranked second in this year’s initial College Football Playoff rankings on Tuesday night. They were behind Ohio State and ahead of Texas A&M, both of these teams are also undefeated. Here is what the CFP committee chair Mack Rhodes had to say about Indiana.
Why Was Ohio State Ranked Ahead of Indiana and Texas A&M?
There was robust conversation, discussion about 1 through 3, all three of them undefeated.
Certainly great conversation and discussion about Ohio State and Indiana, two really, really quality, quality teams, two teams with really, really good wins. Ohio State versus No. 11 Texas, and a win over 23 Washington. Indiana, No. 9 Oregon, No. 20 Iowa. Both defenses, both offenses ranked in the top 5.
So it was certainly close, but when we looked at film, and we’re blessed to have committee members and coaches that do a lot of film work, we just felt like Ohio State had a slight edge when we think about offensive line play and then a slight edge defensively. That was really the outcome.
Ohio State has some, I’m going to call them, explosive players that probably stood out as well.
What it Means
This committee actually watches the games and does not rely on just a paper resume and analytics developed by ESPN.
Just wanted to ask, what did y’all see in A&M, and can you elaborate on any particulars about A&M’s defense that separated them behind Ohio State and Indiana right now?
What we saw in A&M is a really, really good football team. They went into Death Valley, I thought dominated a good LSU team. You have a dynamic playmaker at quarterback, Marcel Reed. He can beat you with his arm. He can beat you with his feet. Impressive win, certainly going on the road, South Bend.
I think you’re talking about really small margins when you think about the difference between Ohio State, Indiana and A&M, and then I think statistically when we looked at A&M defensively, they’re just lower than both Ohio State and Indiana. We had to make a hard decision, and you’re trying to find separators, and that was a separator for us.
What it Means
Even though the committee looked at tape and put a lot of stock into it. In order to separate three really good teams, they dove into the statistics. It is a good tool, but I am glad it’s not the only tool.
As you guys are discussing these teams, as you mentioned the discussion at the top of the poll, when you talked about those three teams, did you talk about non-league scheduling and the fact that two of those teams challenged themselves and of course Indiana didn’t?
Yeah, the schedule is the schedule. We don’t talk about scheduling philosophy and how any team scheduled. We just looked at hey, this is who they have on the schedule. This is the outcome of those games. Then looking at all of the metrics at our disposal.
What it Means
The people crying about Indiana’s non-conference schedule are still crying about Indiana’s non-conference schedule. What looked like a marshmallow soft non-conference has turned into two bowl teams and an FCS team that just knocked off the No. 5 team in FCS. It’s not a gauntlet, but it’s not a marshmallow either. Indiana also has wins on the road against the No. 20 team (Iowa) and No. 9 Team (Oregon).
Other Notable Quotes
Q. You mentioned earlier about watching the film. I’m curious when you guys are doing that how much you rely on the former head coaches or people that have had more experience than maybe some others to really break down what you see on film for each game you guys watch.
MACK RHOADES: Appreciate the question. It’s a great question. But man, know your strengths. Know your strengths within the committee room, and those are experts. Those are pros. Those are people that have done it for years and years and years. We’ve got great respect for Coach Dantonio, Coach Ault, Coach Riley.
But I do want to say this: There are others in the room that are skilled at looking at the tape, looking at the film, so it is a collective effort, and it’s great discussion, and we certainly count on our three coaches and their opinions.