College Football Playoff Ranking: TCU climbs to #4

The second edition of the College Football Playoff rankings were released Tuesday night and the 9-0 TCU Horned Frogs have earned a place in the coveted Top 4, jumping three spots to #4 . from #7 in last week’s Committee ranking. Week 10 experienced plenty of chaos at the top of the rankings, with Alabama, Clemson, and Tennessee all taking losses to allow the undefeated Frogs to make a leap ahead.

The Top 4 of this week’s College Football Playoff rankings had the Georgia Bulldogs as the clear #1, followed by Ohio State, Michigan, and the Frogs. The Top 10 is rounded out by Tennessee, Oregon, LSU, USC, Alabama, and Clemson. TCU’s Week 11 game will be a Top 20 contest, with the Texas Longhorns up to #18 in the rankings.

Given how these rankings have gone in the past, many may have been surprised to the the Volunteers fall behind the Frogs after being #1 last week. As much as could be said about how meaningless the rankings were last week when TCU was on the outside looking in, it’s of equally little value this week with the Frogs above the Playoff cut line.

In similarly empty fashion: a week after finding any reason he could pull out of thin air to denigrate the Horned Frogs, CFP Committee Chair Boo Corrigan all of a sudden had equally pointless positive commentary on the Frogs. In speaking to why TCU moved ahead in the rankings, Corrigan noted “They’ve got six wins over teams that are .500 or better; they’re averaging 43 points a game, as you know, we value wins. They continue to find a way to win and not give up those points in the second half and it was really impactful to the Committee.” I mean, thanks, but if I were a fan of any other fanbase I’d be rolling my eyes so hard at those statements. Corrigan continued to reiterate that winning matters and winning conference championships matters, so for TCU the most important thing this week, as any week: win the next game.

TCU Head Coach Sonny Dykes appeared on the ESPN rankings program on Tuesday, commenting on his reaction to the Frogs being ranked at #4: “This is early in the process. I have a lot of faith in the Committee that they’re going to recognize teams that continue to win...I appreciate the fact that they value wins and our guys have been able to do that so far.”

Even with the Frogs currently holding a precious Top-4 spot, the Futures marketplace has moved very little for TCU, as the Frogs still have just the 9th-best odds to win the National Championship at DraftKings Sportsbook at +6000 (60-to-1), while holding unchanged from last week at +700 (7-to-1) to make the Playoff. TCU QB Max Duggan has the 9th-best odds to win the Heisman Trophy at +4000 (40-to-1).

TCU has a big-time matchup this weekend against #18 Texas with a big target on its back and the national spotlight of College GameDay and the ABC Primetime game. All of this talk about Playoff rankings and individual awards becomes a one-line footnote if the Frogs cannot continue to win, starting again Saturday night in Darrell K. Royal Stadium.