Kentucky took a hit in Tuesday’s latest College Football Playoff rankings, but the Cats still landed ahead of Texas Tech, and CFP committee chair Hunter Yurachek laid out exactly why.
On the committee’s weekly teleconference after the ESPN rankings reveal, Yurachek was pressed on the Red Raiders’ spot behind two-loss teams. His answer came back to the same two things the committee leans on every week: schedule strength and quality wins.
“Texas Tech, first of all, they got an 8-1 record. Got a lot of respect from the committee,” Yurachek said.
“They benefited from some teams losing above them, the rankings that moved them up three spots. Compared to Kentucky and BYU, Texas Tech strength of schedule by our metrics, currently 65, Kentucky is 8 and BYU is 24.”
He pointed out that all three teams have two quality wins. Texas Tech’s came against Houston and Arizona.
Kentucky’s were LSU and South Carolina. BYU’s were Notre Dame and Arizona.
Each team also owns a pair of top-25 wins, though Texas Tech and BYU got both of theirs at home while Kentucky picked up one on the road. Even with that, the separator for the committee was still the bigger body of work. Kentucky leads Texas Tech and BYU in both strength of schedule and strength of record.
The Red Raiders also took the worst loss in the group.
“You look at the losses. Texas Tech’s one loss is to a 5-4 Cincinnati team.
BYU lost, obviously, this past weekend to our No. 2 ranked team in Utah,” Yurachek explained. “Also has a loss to UCF.
Kentucky has two losses to Alabama, who is ranked third, and Tennessee, who is ranked eighth.”
That’s why the committee slotted BYU at No. 10, Kentucky at No. 11, and Texas Tech at No. 12.
Indiana sits at No. 9 with an 8-1 record, even though the Hoosiers have no ranked wins. Their edge appears to come from game control and a top-10 strength of record, which gives them a cushion over the trio behind them.
For Kentucky, the key takeaway is simple: the Cats have played the toughest schedule of the bunch, and that’s carrying real weight. The wins are close enough to keep the race tight, but the committee clearly valued the schedule enough to put UK ahead of Texas Tech for now.
If the CFP field were set today, Kentucky would be on the road in the first round and would be one win away in Austin from a matchup with Alabama. That game would likely take place at the Cotton Bowl.
With three weeks left in the regular season, the bracket picture is getting sharper by the day. Kentucky is still firmly in the mix, and the Cats could still be three wins away from making the tournament.
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