It took 5 editions of the School Soccer Playoff rankings reveal, however the choice committee lastly modified its method — to the delight of the SEC and the frustration of the ACC.
Oregon remained atop the rankings, adopted by Texas, Penn State and Notre Dame.
The intrigue Tuesday night got here within the double digits, the place Alabama climbed two spots, to No. 11, and Miami dropped six locations, to No. 12 — that means the Crimson Tide would make the CFP subject, and the Hurricanes wouldn’t, if type holds by championship weekend.
(The CFP seeds and matchups will probably be introduced Sunday at 9 a.m. on ESPN, adopted a number of hours later by the pairing for the non-playoff bowls.)
Committee chair Warde Manuel defined that Alabama’s rise was primarily based on its assortment of high quality wins — a justification that makes excellent sense, besides the committee had not prioritized high quality wins in earlier weeks.
As a substitute, it gave substantial weight to win-loss file and the way groups appeared whatever the competitors. Energy-of-schedule was devalued because of this.
However on Tuesday, Manuel appeared on the ESPN broadcast and cited Alabama’s three wins over ranked opponents, in comparison with zero for Miami.
Later, on a media teleconference, he expounded:
“It came down to a difference in their body of work as we evaluated Alabama and Miami, not just wins, not just losses but the totality of the season and how those teams performed.”
Oh, how the tune has modified — simply in time for the SEC to ship a fourth staff into the sector.
Manuel later revealed that the committee received’t alter its analysis of groups that aren’t taking part in in convention championships this weekend.
“We know who has won games against teams that are in these championships,” he stated, “and we’ve already taken that into account this week as we evaluated them.”
That seemingly suggests not one of the at-large candidates ranked under the Crimson Tide, which might be the final staff within the subject, can overtake Alabama.
Different takeaways:
— Boise State moved up one spot, to No. 10, and seemingly will obtain an opening-round bye if the Broncos defeat UNLV within the Mountain West championship sport.
— That bye will come on the expense of both the Huge 12 or the ACC:
If eighth-ranked SMU wins the ACC title, the Mustangs will declare a bye and the Huge 12 champion (No. 15 Arizona State or No. 16 Iowa State) will play a street sport within the opening spherical.
If SMU loses to No. 17 Clemson, the destiny of the ultimate bye would hinge on the committee’s choice for the Tigers or the Huge 12 winner.
— Based mostly on the most recent rankings, the next projected convention champions groups would have byes: Oregon, Texas, SMU and Boise State.
And primarily based on the rankings, the next at-large groups would host opening-round video games: Penn State, Notre Dame, Georgia and Ohio State.
— If type holds (and it in all probability received’t):
Huge Ten champ Oregon would face the Tennessee-Ohio State winner within the quarterfinals.
Huge 12 champ Arizona State would open on the street in opposition to Penn State.
Mountain West champ Boise State would face the Penn State-ASU winner within the quarterfinals.
Initially Printed: December 3, 2024 at 6:11 PM PST
