Ezekiel Elliott and Ohio State are the top Big Ten team in the first College Football Playoff rankings despite having less wins over ranked teams than Michigan State or Iowa. 0 Shares print The Big Ten earned some respect in the eyes of most of the country last season through its performance in the postseason. And the College Football Playoff selection committee showed it has a healthy respect for the league in the first set of weekly rankings that were released Tuesday night. Five Big Ten teams made it into the Top 25, and three are in the Top 10. Northwestern, which isn’t ranked in either the Associated Press or USA Today coaches’ poll, nevertheless checked in at No. 21 in the committee rankings. The 6-2 Wildcats will therefore count as a quality win for both Iowa and Michigan, and its opening victory over Stanford (No. 11 in the CFP rankings) obviously carries weight. Michigan, at No. 17, is the highest-ranked two-loss team in the rankings, even ahead of an Ole Miss team that won at Alabama. The Wolverines, perhaps, were not punished too much for the way they lost in the final seconds against Michigan State. Perhaps most importantly for the Big Ten, Ohio State is in the top four at No. 3…
Continue Reading: Big Ten gets mostly fair treatment in first CFP rankings
