Why I... rank the College Football Playoff like THIS

The final game of the college football regular season (not counting Army-Navy) has been recorded and so the time has come for the committee to make the only ranking set that counts.

Before I get into my thoughts on the six teams vying for the four playoff spots, I feel I need to make a very loud, vehement complaint against how this entire process has worked.

I am NOT a fan of the College Football Playoff rankings being issued every week. To me, it makes the early games of the season get counted in one shot and relies a tad too much on the early season rankings, since most of the big make-or-break games have not been played and the validity of certain conferences cannot necessarily be ascertained yet.

If an entire body of work is going to be judged, then at most there should only be two rankings - one before widespread conference play and one after all the games have been played.

But this is a 'give it to me now' society, so let's throw out what makes sense and talk about this week's set of games, which I'd guess will have a tremendous amount of weight in the committee room.

It was about as big a nightmare as the committee could have asked for, as every member of the top six won, and all but Florida State won by double digits.

Now the debate begins between four conference championship game winners and a pair of co-champs from the Big 12. Who gets in? Who gets out? Let's look at the teams.

(Order of examination based on previous week's rankings)

Alabama

Record: 12-1 (SEC Champion)

Non-conference schedule (all wins): vs West Virginia, vs Florida Atlantic, vs Southern Miss, vs Western Carolina

Opponents beaten while ranked: at LSU, vs Mississippi St., vs Auburn, vs Missouri

Opponents beaten who were ranked during season: vs West Virginia, vs Texas A&M

Loss: at Ole Miss

Thoughts: This hasn't been one of the SEC's better years, and just looking at the teams the Tide have listed as their claims to fame leads me to question their actual skills. Still, six teams who were ranked at some point hit the team's schedule, so that's more than enough for me.

Oregon

Record: 12-1 (Pac-12 Champion)

Non-conference schedule (all wins): vs South Dakota, vs Michigan State, vs Wyoming

Opponents beaten while ranked: vs Michigan State, at UCLA, at Utah, vs Arizona

Opponents beaten who were ranked during season: vs Stanford

Loss: vs Arizona (avenged on neutral site)

Thoughts: You know, actually reading the schedule out loud makes me realize that Oregon lucked out that they were in the North division. This team would have fallen in the South division. Regardless, the wins that Oregon has make up for an otherwise pedestrian schedule.

Texas Christian

Record: 11-1 (Big 12 Co-champion)

Non-conference schedule (all wins): vs Samford, vs Minnesota, at SMU

Opponents beaten while ranked: vs Oklahoma, vs Oklahoma State, at West Virginia, vs Kansas State

Opponents beaten who were ranked during season: vs Minnesota

Loss: at Baylor

Thoughts: The Big 12 is probably the deepest conference in football this year, but it lacks a high perception to make mid-level teams look like bigger threats. Admittedly, the resume is still solid, but it's hindered by a lack of a title game and a minimal non-conference schedule.

Florida State

Record: 13-0 (ACC Champion)

Non-conference schedule (all wins): vs Oklahoma State, vs the Citadel, vs Notre Dame, vs Florida

Opponents beaten while ranked: vs Clemson, vs Notre Dame, at Louisville, vs Georgia Tech

Opponents beaten who were ranked during season: vs Oklahoma State

Loss: None

Thoughts: Honestly, the schedule for FSU doesn't look half bad, and considering they're the lone undefeated, I've got no gripes.

Ohio State

Record: 12-1 (Big Ten Champion)

Non-conference schedule: at Navy, vs Virginia Tech, vs Kent State, vs Cincinnati

Opponents beaten while ranked: at Michigan State, at Minnesota, vs Wisconsin

Opponents beaten who were ranked during season: None

Loss: vs Virginia Tech

Thoughts: This is probably the weakest resume of the bunch, but it may be one of the hardest to question, as the opponents listed are mostly shared by other teams.

Baylor

Record: 11-1 (Big 12 Co-champion)

Non-conference schedule (all wins): vs SMU, vs Northwestern State, at Buffalo

Opponents beaten while ranked: vs TCU, at Oklahoma, at Kansas State

Opponents beaten who were ranked during season: vs Oklahoma State

Loss: at West Virginia

Thoughts: I'm torn, on one hand, this team beat TCU. On the other, West Virginia beat Baylor. It comes down to whether the head-to-head matters or record vs. common opponents.

Final rankings: If I'm casting a ballot, here's what I think... we need an 8-team playoff. Seriously, it would ensure that any gripes over a tournament slot would be between dunderheads with at least two losses and no leg to stand on.

As it is, though, here are my rankings:

1) Florida State - perfect season, discussion over
2) Oregon - multiple road wins over ranked squad and a slightly better conference than the SEC
3) Alabama - way too many wins over ranked squads to overlook
4) Baylor - The Big 12 produces a better resume than the Big Ten, and when comparing the two co-champs, Baylor has head-to-head. Besides, TCU only managed a one-point win with WVU themselves, indicating the loss they took was a good one as well.

On the outside: TCU and Ohio State (in some order)