USA TODAY Sports' Dan Wolken breaks down the fourth edition of the College Football Playoff rankings.
Walk together with me, everyone, down the road of College Football Playoff confusion.
No. 4 Penn State has one win against a team in the College Football Playoff rankings. No. 3 Texas, No. 6 Miami, No. 9 SMU and No. 10 Indiana have none. What those five teams have in common: one loss.
Meanwhile, I give you those with wins against the committee's top 25: No. 7 Georgia (three), No. 13 Alabama (three), No. 2 Ohio State (two), No. 15 South Carolina (two) and No. 5 Notre Dame (one). What those five teams have in common: a combined seven losses to teams in the rankings.
Now I'm not a rocket scientist, but it appears those who play easier schedules have better records. This, of course, leaves two critical questions:
Why reward teams who have an easier path to success?
Why - and here's the biggie - penalize teams for multiple losses to those teams in the top 25?
BREAKDOWN: Winners and losers from the College Football Playoff ranking
At some point, if the College Football Playoff continues along this path of using a selection committee (which isn't a given for the new contract beginning in 2026), degree of difficulty must be factored into the equation.
It's like diving in the Olympics. Anyone can nail a jackknife. How many can hit a reverse 4½ somersault in pike position?
"We were impressed with some of the things Indiana did,"playoff committee chairman and Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said of the Hoosiers' 23-point loss to Ohio State. "We still felt their body of work was strong enough to stay in the top 10."
Indiana's resume is wins over three 6-5 teams (Washington, Nebraska, Michigan), and a three-possession loss to Ohio State in its only other game against a team with a winning record.
That's some body of work.
This leads us to this week's overvalued and undervalued of the College Football Playoff rakings:
Eye test: Exhibit A for uniform bias. It's Penn State, it's the Big Ten -- and sonofagun, did you see that Illinois win? (Ignore that pesky late win last week over middling Minnesota. Nothing to see here).
Eye test: The Hurricanes face the Orange this week needing a win to reach the ACC championship game. Lose, and they're all the way out of the rankings -- with no hope of an at-large spot. Miami has 14 interceptions this season, and Syracuse QB Kyle McCord - who leads the nation in passing yards - has thrown 12.
Eye test: The drum major of the overvalued. Indiana isn't 8-1 in the SEC. Or the Big 12, or more than likely, the ACC. What exactly does that say about the top-heavy Big Ten? It says the committee isn't doing its work.
Eye test: The No. 3 scoring offense and No. 2 scoring defense in the SEC. But like everyone else in the best conference in college football, the Vols have struggled on the road, including a 14-point loss at No. 7 Georgia. Alabama lost three games on the SEC road, Georgia lost twice, and all three of No. 21 Missouri's SEC losses are away from home. Translation: Tennessee can't overlook Vanderbilt. If the Vols win, they're in the field.
Eye test: A three-point loss to LSU, a two-point loss at No. 13 Alabama, and a season of what-ifs. The Gamecocks need a big win over Clemson, and a lot of help to reach the 12-team field: Vanderbilt over Tennessee, Auburn over Alabama, Syracuse over Miami, and most important, Mississippi State over Ole Miss.
Eye test: QB Sam Leavitt missed the Cincinnati game, and the Sun Devils couldn't win with nomadic backup Jeff Sims. If Leavitt is healthy, they are likely 10-1 with two wins against the rankings (including at No. 24 Kansas State). In that scenario, considering the committee's affinity for one-loss teams, Arizona State would likely be in the top 10 and among the projected first four seeds.