Indiana’s fall in the second College Football Playoff rankings came with a blunt explanation from the man helping steer the committee’s decisions.
CFP Selection Committee chair Hunter Yurachek said Tuesday night that the Hoosiers were “the victim of having a bye week at the wrong time” after dropping from No. 4 to No. 9 in the latest release. Indiana did not play last week, but the teams around it did - and several made enough noise to shake up the board.
“When the teams around you lose in the rankings and win big games, it affects where you land,” Yurachek said in his opening remarks. “Even in the week you didn’t lose or in some cases like Indiana didn’t play, those are some of the toughest conversations in the room and why we saw such significant movement.”
Yurachek pointed to a cluster of results that pushed Indiana down, starting with Notre Dame’s win over Miami, Texas’ victory over Missouri and UCLA’s road win over Minnesota. He noted that Minnesota had played Indiana the week before, and that the Hoosiers needed a 60-yard field goal as time expired just to force overtime in that game.
“The committee is impressed with what UCLA, Texas and Notre Dame did, as well as Alabama obviously with their big win at LSU,” Yurachek said.
He also said Indiana’s résumé took a hit because of how the Hoosiers’ opponents have fared in Big Ten play.
“Every team that Indiana played, had played to date in the Big Ten, they all lost. So they this six losses that went against their record strength as well as their strength of schedule. Those metrics affected the committee’s review of Indiana this week, as well.”
Yurachek also addressed the quarterback situation, saying Indiana’s offense remains a talking point for the committee even with the defense carrying the load.
“I mean, obviously the quarterback play in general, the offensive play in general, is a discussion point there for Indiana. They’re a dominant defensive team.
One of the best, if not the best, defensive teams statistically in the country. They have won games because of their defense, not because of their offense.
That is a point of discussion in the room when we are comparing them to other teams.”
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Tobi Osunsanmi is at the center of that challenge. Indiana has to find a way to make USC uncomfortable early and often, because if Maiava settles in, the Trojans can turn a game fast through the air. The Hoosiers have shown they can defend at a high level, but this one may hinge on whether Osunsanmi and the pass rush can force USC out of rhythm before the secondary has to hold up for long stretches. [Read more 🡒]