Alabama’s CFP ranking stuns college football world: ‘JOKE from the CFP committee’

Alabama's CFP ranking stuns college football world: 'JOKE from the CFP committee'.

Key points

• Be sure to check out USA TODAY Sports' new College Football Unfiltered podcast, hosted by USA TODAY Sports columnist Blake Toppmeyer.
• The reason the Crimson Tide's specific seeding is a head-scratcher is that Alabama was ranked ahead of a one-loss Kentucky squad.
• To put the decision from the committee into further perspective, USA TODAY Sports' Matt Hayes had the Crimson Tide as his No.
• According to Yurachek, tennessee doesn't have the same number of quality wins as Alabama, despite having the head-to-head over the Crimson Tide.
• The first unveiling of the College Football Playoff rankings is in the books, and there was some head-scratching that followed.

Meanwhile, the first unveiling of the College Football Playoff rankings is in the books, and there was some head-scratching that followed.

Meanwhile, a notable cause of that was the CFP selection committee ranking two-loss Alabama as the No. 5 seed in the 12-team bracket.

"Everyone is surprised, " ESPN's Joey Galloway remarked on Alabama's seeding on the network's show. Hayes: Tennessee embarrassed Alabama. CFP committee embarrassed itself.

For context, the reason the Crimson Tide's specific seeding is a head-scratcher is that Alabama was ranked ahead of a one-loss Kentucky squad. It keelon Russell and Co. Defeated back in Week 2, and eight spots ahead of a Tennessee team that rolled the team over, 26-10, just a few weeks ago.

To put the decision from the committee into further perspective, USA TODAY Sports' Matt Hayes had the Crimson Tide as his No. 9 team in his CFP bracket projection heading into Tuesday. In that same projection, the Crimson Tide was ranked behind Texas – which has two top-10 wins at home against then-No. 1 Ohio State and then-No. 7 Mississippi, along with a road win at Tennessee. The committee had the Longhorns at No. 7 in the bracket.

CFP committee chair Hunter Yurachek explained Alabama's ranking after the rankings were made public.

"You look first that Alabama went on the road and beat a team that we have six this week in Kentucky. They additionally beat South Carolina. This person is ranked in the top 25, and I think numerous forget that they went on the road and beat Mississippi State when Mississippi State was undefeated and at full strength, " Yurachek noted. "We really valued that as a solid win for Alabama back there in the early part of the season when Mississippi State had that quarterback (Kamario Taylor) who was highly, particularly good. Mississippi State was on a roll at that time."

According to Yurachek, tennessee doesn't have the same number of quality wins as Alabama, despite having the head-to-head over the Crimson Tide. According to He additionally, alabama obtained the head-to-head advantage against Kentucky as the Crimson Tide and Wildcats were in the same "pod" by the committee. (Alabama and Tennessee, notably, were not).

In practice, the Crimson Tide's ranking, to no surprise, caused plenty of reactions on social media throughout the college football world. Here's a snippet of the reactions.

CFP rankings after Week 9: Bracket, highlights from first top 25 reveal. College football reacts to Alabama's CFP ranking.

Be sure to check out USA TODAY Sports' new College Football Unfiltered podcast, hosted by USA TODAY Sports columnist Blake Toppmeyer. You can stream on YouTube or download via Apple podcasts and Spotify. Share your feedback to support improve our site!

For now, alabamas CFP ranking stuns college football world: JOKE from the CFP committee remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.