♦♦ BAMA NATION ♦♦

2022 College Football 2022  Tuscaloosa, AL ♦ Who Really Belomgs Ranked Where...? ♦ The first college football playoff rankings will be released Tuesday, which means it's time to start expressing your anger at the committee now. The team that has looked the best through nine weeks of football is Ohio State. This is inherently a subjective statement, but there's really no argument. So, to ensure Boo Corrigan has some sleepless nights between now and Tuesday, here's your official guide to why each undefeated or one-loss Power 5 team deserves to be in the initial top four. Illinois (7-1) Defense wins championships, as the saying goes, and the Illini have arguably the most impressive defense in the country, holding seven of eight opponents to less than 300 yards of total offense. Also, Bret Bielema needs to give 60 days' notice of cancellation if he wants his deposit back on the ice fishing lodge he has booked for the entire month of January. TCU (8-0) The Horned Frogs have an impressive resume. They're one of just two teams with four or more wins vs. teams ranked at game time this season. They've won four true road games. They're just the third Power 5 team in the playoff era -- along with 2018 Alabama and 2020 Alabama -- to score 38 points or more in each of their first eight games of the season. They're probably the only hope for a team from Texas ever making the playoff. Clemson (8-0) The Tigers were off in Week 9, but their resume stacks up with anyone. They've won four road games, four games against FPI top-40 teams, three games against ranked opponents, all while definitely, absolutely, no question about it, not worrying at all about their quarterback situation. Seriously, stop asking. Ohio State (8-0) For the traditionalists: They've won every game by an average of 32 points. For the analytics folks. They lead the country in expected points added per play. For the Michigan fans They haven't beaten you in 1,065 days. Fortunately for Ohio State, what happened last year doesn't matter to this year's committee, and the Buckeyes remain the most impressive-looking team in the country so far. Georgia (8-0) We have not actually watched any Georgia games this year. They've all been boring, even that kind of close one against Missouri when the Bulldogs spent most of the first three quarters trying to figure out what was going on with Chris Pine and Harry Styles before remembering they had to win the game still. But the important thing here is that if Georgia is not in the top four, Brock Bowers will be very angry at the committee, and the committee would not like Brock Bowers when he's angry. Alabama (7-1) The committee will look kindly on Alabama's good loss. Really, nothing weighs more heavily than that. But Nick Saban would actually prefer the Tide don't get ranked in the top four so early. That's rat poison, man. Besides, worst comes to worst, Saban can just cash in his "make seven playoffs, get the eighth for free" card.