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Ratings vs efficiency: A little help from my friends

PAC-12 South Champs!!! That is where Utah has ended their regular season! I love it! One game left to determine where they get to go bowling, with one real option being the College Football Playoffs! It is a good day to be a Ute. As far as this whole blog is concerned, this is the most yellow this thing has ever looked, and there is only one underrated team on the list, and you may find it hard to believe. I will throw a couple of deserving friends in with that one underrated squad though. Come check it out!

CFP Rank

Team

Efficiency

Difference

1

Ohio State

1

0

2

LSU

3

-1

3

Clemson

2

1

4

Georgia

7

-3

5

Utah

5

0

6

Oklahoma

8

-2

7

Baylor

14

-7

8

Wisconsin

6

2

9

Florida

9

0

10

Penn State

11

-1

11

Auburn

10

1

12

Alabama

4

8

13

Oregon

12

1

14

Michigan

15

-1

15

Notre Dame

13

2

16

Iowa

17

-1

17

Memphis

19

-2

18

Minnesota

20

-2

19

Boise State

24

-5

20

Cincinnati

38

-18

21

Appalachian State

23

-2

22

USC

21

1

23

Virginia

35

-12

24

Navy

25

-1

25

Oklahoma State

27

-2

Alright, only two teams this week don’t fit any of the criteria for being assigned a color, Georgia and Boise State. Congratulations on not fitting in. I really hope that is what the CFP tells Georgia on Sunday.

As for underrated, the lone team on this list is Alabama (thanks Auburn). Yup, those guys. I’ve got two takes on that. First, you gotta win games to warrant a high ranking. Alabama (+8) is keeping company with the likes of UCF (efficiency rating of 16), Washington (18), and Air Force (22). That is just the reality of it. Second, I don’t think Alabama should have dropped as far as they did.I’d be alright if Bama and Baylor swapped spots on the rankings. It honestly has nothing to do with bias, just numbers. Moving on.

Speaking of Baylor, they are the number 3 on the overrated teams. They are sitting at -7. The previously mentioned swap with Bama in the rankings would put this whole rankings/ratings thing into a ridiculous amount of balance. Virginia (-12) is the second most overrated team. I guess beating another bubble team gets you in. Meh. Congrats to Coach Mendenhall though. I think I saw some legitimate smiles on his face in the locker room. And finally the most overrated team is Cincinnati. If they had been punished as harshly as Bama was, they would be out of the top 25. That would maybe make room for the unranked underrated folks.

17 teams are in the goldilocks zone. Too many to mention, but I am glad to see that actual play, not just potential success, is actually affecting the rankings. That is what I’ve been hoping for the whole time I’ve been writing this.

Alright, there are two teams that get a gold star. First off, Florida. Good job Gators. I threw some shade earlier in the season, but you ended with a gold star and a pretty dang good season. And if there were an award for most gold stars, I’m pretty sure Utah would be the recipient. Hoping to see one or two more! The only team ahead of Utah in the ratings but not in the rankings is Alabama, and as I have been saying all season you gotta win the games to deserve the high ranking. This is the reason why I feel good about the Utes getting into the playoffs if Georgia loses and Utah wins. The only way it doesn’t play out that way is if Utah pulls an Oklahoma and ekes out a win, and Oklahoma pulls a Utah and curb-stomps Baylor.

GO UTES!!!

PS - I asked my wife if she wanted to go on a trip to Georgia for a Christmas present. She laughed at me and said no. So if any of you have any good gift ideas, send em my way. She likes cooking and sewing.

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