Records do too much talking in November. It’s mostly about who you beat.
The committee half agrees. It put Notre Dame 11th for not beating anybody good. Then it put Kentucky sixth, Alabama fifth and Tennessee 13th, behind the Alabama team the Vols beat by 16. Pick a lane.
Here’s the Five and a Fade Correct Top 10. Spoiler: it’s correct.
1. Texas (6-2, AP No. 10, CFP No. 7)
Two losses, and I don’t care. College basketball figured this out years ago: a win gets graded by who and where. Texas beat No. 12 Ohio State, No. 10 Ole Miss and No. 13 Tennessee at Neyland. That’s three of the committee’s own top 13, and all three are in the Correct Top 10. Nobody else here has more than one. The losses? By three to Oklahoma in Dallas and by three to No. 24 Florida.
2. Georgia (7-1, AP No. 2, CFP No. 2)
Winning in Tuscaloosa is one of the best wins anybody has. Why not first? Texas has three wins over this list. Georgia has one, plus a home loss to unranked Auburn. Saturday is at No. 10 Ole Miss. Win in Oxford and Georgia has a case for No. 1.
3. Ohio State (6-2, AP No. 11, CFP No. 12)
Won at No. 4 Indiana, handing the Hoosiers their only loss in two seasons, and at No. 19 Iowa. Lost by one at No. 7 Texas and by 12 at No. 20 USC. That Indiana win is better than anything Miami or Utah has. The committee has it 12th, eight spots behind the Indiana team it beat. Make it make sense.
4. Miami (8-0, AP No. 1, CFP No. 1)
Undefeated, and the best win is at No. 16 Wake Forest. Wake is ranked. But it’s also Wake Forest. Saturday is at No. 11 Notre Dame, which has beaten one team with a winning record. Win in South Bend and it’s definitely worth something. The question is how much.
5. Tennessee (6-2, AP No. 16, CFP No. 13)
Beat the brakes off No. 5 Alabama, 26-10 at our place. Same record, same conference, and the committee has the Tide eight spots ahead. The losses: by three to a Texas team that was No. 1 at the time, and by three at No. 21 South Carolina after leading practically the entire second half. Saturday against No. 6 Kentucky, the Vols can build a better résumé or play themselves out of the conversation.
6. Alabama (6-2, AP No. 9, CFP No. 5)
Alabama has played three teams in the Correct Top 10: a huge win, a convincing loss and basically a tie. It won at No. 6 Kentucky. It lost to Tennessee, the only team that has clearly outplayed Alabama this season. You’re welcome, Alabama. And it played No. 2 Georgia almost even until a missed PI call helped decide it by three. I care more about great wins than the 6-2.
7. Utah (8-0, AP No. 3, CFP No. 3)
Utah’s best win is No. 17 Houston, at home, and nobody else it has played is ranked. But undefeated buys you something. Not everything. Utah hasn’t been blown out by anybody. Kentucky and Ole Miss have. Beat BYU Saturday and the résumé matches the record.
8. BYU (7-1, AP No. 7, CFP No. 9)
Beat No. 11 Notre Dame. The loss at unranked UCF is why the Cougars sit behind Utah. Saturday at Utah is a huge opportunity.
9. Kentucky (7-1, AP No. 8, CFP No. 6)
Won at Oklahoma, at Texas A&M, by a point at No. 21 South Carolina and by a point over No. 14 LSU. Three plays from 4-4. And Alabama came to Lexington and won by four touchdowns. That loss is worse than Alabama’s two. The committee has Kentucky sixth. Ahead of Texas. Seven spots ahead of Tennessee. We’ll settle that one at Neyland Saturday.
10. Ole Miss (6-2, AP No. 12, CFP No. 10)
Beat No. 14 LSU and No. 18 Missouri, both at home. Why not higher? Two good wins don’t add up to one great one, especially when you lose by 24 at No. 24 Florida.
The Four I Left Out
None of them get to ride the preseason wave. Start high in August, play a soft schedule, keep the record pretty and you never really drop.
Notre Dame (7-1, AP No. 4, CFP No. 11)
Seven wins, and only one came against a team with a winning record: Wisconsin, 5-3 and unranked. The committee has the Irish 11th. For once, it got one right. Beat No. 1 Miami and the Irish likely jump into the Correct Top 10.
UCLA (8-0, AP No. 5, CFP No. 8)
The only ranked win is by two at No. 23 Oregon. Six of UCLA’s eight opponents have losing records. Next up: Minnesota, Illinois and Michigan. None are ranked. The committee still has UCLA eighth, ahead of a BYU team that beat Notre Dame. Undefeated gets you in the conversation. It doesn’t get you in the Correct Top 10.
Indiana (8-1, AP No. 6, CFP No. 4)
Zero ranked wins. The one ranked team it played, No. 12 Ohio State, won in Bloomington. Last year’s 16-0 earned respect. This year’s résumé hasn’t.
LSU (6-2, AP No. 15, CFP No. 14)
Zero wins over a ranked team. Both losses were close, at Ole Miss and at Kentucky. Close isn’t a win. Trust me, I’ve watched a lot of Tennessee football.
So my No. 1 is the committee’s No. 7, and its No. 1 is my No. 4. Records can lie in November. Wins don’t.
Jeremy Durham is a sports columnist for TriStar Daily and the founder of Five and a Fade.
