Well, I did not see that coming. The 2020 College Football Playoff Committee cemented their legacy as the worst CFP Committee of all time last week when they put a 5-3 Missouri ahead of 9-1 LU. The same Tiger team that lost to 2-6 Tennessee, 35-12, (which is coincidentally almost exactly the combined record of the teams Missouri has beaten, which is 12-33) and don’t have a win against a team with a winning record this season. Liberty’s only loss is a 14-13 defeat to #23 NC State. Liberty 100% should be ranked right now, however, LU has to be right on the outskirts, maybe at #26, and, if a few teams can see their way to losing this Weekend, LU should get into the CFP Top 25 for the first time in school history Tuesday night.  

4 TOP 25 GAMES TO WATCH

These Top 25 teams have a really good chance to lose this weekend and open up room for LU to get into the rankings (all 4 games are on Saturday).

1. #25 Missouri vs #9 Georgia 

The game is at noon EST on the SECN. UGA is favored by 13 points and should have no issues sending the over ranked Tigers back to their cages in the land of the unranked. 

2. #21 Colorado vs Utah

The game is at noon EST on Fox. The 4-0 Buffaloes entered the rankings last week as I predicted but might make a quick exit this week. Colorado is only favored by 2.5 points and ESPN only gives them a 52.5% chance of winning.

3. #17 North Carolina vs #10 Miami 

The game is at 3:30 pm EST on ABC. The Tar Heels are another example of a team inexplicable ranked in the Top 25 despite having 3 losses with two of those losses being to Florida State and Virginia! North Carolina’s only quality win is over NC State. In my opinion, both of these teams are over ranked but Miami is favored by 3 points and should have the edge over Mac Brown’s squad.

4. #15 USC vs UCLA

The game is at 7:30 pm EST on ABC. USC has played only 4 games, has two 4 point or fewer wins over teams who haven’t won a game and hasn’t beaten a team with a winning record but is somehow ranked #15 in the nation. The Bruins are unranked and 3-2 but Chip Kelly’s squad has looked competitive and may be brewing for the upset over the over ranked Trojans. USC is only favored by 2.5 points. 

TEAMS TO KEEP AN EYE ON 

Now, even if Top 25 losses come raining from the sky, it is no guarantee that Liberty will get ranked as we saw this last week when 4 teams fell from the rankings and Liberty still remained unranked. These 3 teams could potentially jump the 9-1 Flames if they win their matchups.

San Jose State 5-0 Mountain West

The Spartans are probably the best candidate to jump the Flames at 5-0 and playing in one of the top Group of 5 conferences. SJSU takes on 6-1 Nevada this week on Friday at 10 pm EST on CBSSN.

Wake Forest 4-3 ACC

Do I think the Demon Deacons deserve to be ranked? No! But do I think that this current Committee is capable of ranking them? Yes! Wake Forrest actually has a better claim to being ranked than Missouri does. The Deacons have looked competitive in almost all of their games and all 3 of the teams that beat them are ranked in the Top 25 with #3 Clemson, #17 UNC, and #23 NC State (and Wake Forest was within one possession of beating the two teams from North Carolina). Additionally, Wake Forest’s wins against UVA and Virginia Tech are better than any win Missouri has on their record. If Wake Forest can beat Louisville big this weekend, they may be on their way to the Top 25 based on how this Committee has acted so far. The game is on Saturday at noon EST on the ACCN.

Army 7-2 Independent 

The Golden Knights have had quite the turn around to a program that at one point in the not so distant past was struggling to win 3-4 games. Army’s only two losses are a two-touchdown defeat to Top 10 Cincinnati and a somewhat humbling defeat to 3-5 Tulane. I don’t think Army will jump the Flames but with this Committee, I’m not sure of anything anymore. A big win on the national stage in one of the most historic matchups of all time might be enough to influences the obvious biases of the CFP voters and move the Knights into the Top 25 ahead of the Flames. Army plays Navy on Saturday at 3 pm EST on CBS.

SUMMARY

Will Liberty get into the CFP Top 25? I don’t know. Liberty is for sure a Top 25 team and if the Committee was ranking fairly, based purely on merit, Liberty would be in already, but they aren’t. I think if at least 3 teams fall out of the rankings Liberty should move in, but at this point, we can’t rely on the Committee to do the right thing. There is still one more week of matchups coming up so Liberty will have one more shot if they don’t get in but Liberty’s best odds are definitely this week. Look for my weekend review article on Sunday to find out how the matchups shook out for or against Liberty and whether I think the 9-1 Flames will get into the CFP Top 25 on Tuesday. 

Written by Mr. Exclamation Point.