The ACC, and Virginia, in particular, are facing the double standard that comes with the territory of not being the SEC or Big Ten when it comes to the College Football Playoff.
Consider this nonsense from Hunter Yurachek, the College Football Playoff Selection Committee chair, after the rollout of the latest CFP Top 25 on Tuesday.
Q: I was just kind of wondering what led to Virginia staying put at No. 19 this week even after a blowout win at Duke. I guess, kind of along those lines, did Louisville’s loss, and that being one of Virginia’s better wins, hurt UVA?
Yurachek: I think you just said it right there. Virginia had an impressive win against a Duke team that’s at the top half of the ACC. Duke is now 5-5, and then Louisville, with another loss, fell out of our rankings. That was a significant win at the time for Virginia.
So, you look at Virginia’s resume, they are 9-2. Their schedule strength lagged behind some of the teams that are in front of them. Then the losses to NC State, and even Wake Forest at 7-3, I think impact where Virginia’s currently ranked.
OK, let’s play that game.
Alabama (at #11, with an 8-2 record) lost to Florida State by two TDs. Florida State is 5-5.
Virginia beat FSU, for what that’s worth.
Obviously not a lot, to the CFP folks – who have to pretend that FSU doesn’t exist, because FSU existing hurts ‘Bama, and god knows, we can’t do anything that makes ‘Bama look bad.
Miami (at #13, also 8-2) lost to two unranked teams – Louisville and SMU.
Wonder how it is that Miami losing to “with another loss, fell out of our rankings” Louisville doesn’t hurt them (Miami moved up two spots this week), but does hurt Virginia, which beat Louisville?
Texas (at #17, now 7-3) counts among its losses a Florida team that is 3-7.
Schedule strength is an obvious issue for Virginia, I get that – though I think we can all also see, strength of schedule is as subjective as anything else.
You can’t tell me that there isn’t a thumb on the scale that has everybody in the SEC in the top 33 in SOS, per the ESPN Football Power Index, when SEC schools schedule their share of nonconference cupcakes.
That said, FPI puts UVA’s schedule at 80th nationally.
Among the Power 4 teams in the Top 25, that is down near the bottom – Georgia Tech (at #16, with a 9-1 record) has the 89th-rated schedule.
This is why, if either UVA or Georgia Tech is the AQ from the ACC, they’re the 11th seed in the 12-team CFP, ahead of the Group of 5 team that gets an invite – the favorite for the G5 spot, this week, is Tulane (at #24, with an 8-2 record, and the 71st-toughest schedule).
Georgia Tech still plays Pitt and Georgia, so it’s strength of schedule notches up a bit – and if they get to Charlotte, and Virginia gets the dub there, its SOS improves as well.
Whichever of those from the ACC gets a CFP nod – and, apologies to Miami, which isn’t in the ACC Championship Game race, despite what the suits in Charlotte are trying to convince folks, we’re getting one – I think can sneak a first-round win at a Texas Tech, Ole Miss or Oregon.
It’d be kind of nice if that could happen, just for the future.
We could use some respect.
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Chris Graham
