College Football Playoff rankings reveal more about us than the actual teams involved

Ready to argue?

I am.

Yes, it’s that time of year again: The first College Football Playoff Rankings come out Tuesday night.

The design is to give us insight into what teams are best positioning themselves for a spot in the four-team College Football Playoff early next calendar year.

As the top four teams are revealed in the much-anticipated showing tomorrow night, this much is for sure: The first four won’t be the same when the final rankings are released Dec. 5.

The reason? There will have been five more weeks of rankings when the initial lineup is released Tuesday. Much can – and likely will – change before then.

So why do we care?

Mostly, it gives us something to debate. And who doesn’t want to feel validated by winning an argument?

It’s more about us than the teams on the field.

Take Nick Saban, for example. The Alabama coach – who is actually involved in this all by having the team that undoubtedly will be No. 1 in the first rankings – says he could care less (It’s actually couldn’t care less, but we know what he means.).

“I could care less about the poll,” Saban told ESPN. “What significance does a poll have right now? All we’re talking about right here is the challenge of our season, and where are we going to be in the poll if we don’t play well in the next four games? So I’m focused on the next four games. I could care less about the poll. You won’t see me waste any time watching TV or who is 1 and who is 2. It doesn’t really matter. What really matters is how you play the rest of the season.”

He’s got a valid point. The rankings are really only for us, the fans, to argue over.

We’ll spend weeks trying to get inside the minds of the College Football Playoff Selection Committee. Do they most value a winless record? Or is it strength of schedule in correlation with a team’s number of losses? Maybe they value a team being a champion from a Power 5 conference most. Or is it the eye test?

It’s really hard to say, but we all have a lot of fun arguing what we believe to be true.

Saban, however, brought up a nother good point. This is completely for us because, if the coaches and players get caught up in it, it’s a recipe for disaster.

“If our players think anything of (the poll), then that could be an issue,” Saban told ESPN. “These are the things we try to categorize as poison that you really don’t want your players to be focused on.”

It is a poison. Yet it’s one we as fans love.

Whether you like the rankings – or weekly polls, for that matter – you probably tune in with some sort of take when sitting at the bar with fellow college football fans.

You may argue for this school over that school. Perhaps you argue that it’s too early. Maybe you think the rankings are overall stupid.

Any which way you shape it, you’re talking about it.

Let’s face it: The College Football Playoff rankings say more about us as people than they do about college football – at least for now.

We love the fodder. We feel included.

With that being said, I’m getting in on the fun a little early. I’ll give you my predictions for the four – not for Tuesday – but the squads I think will ultimately be standings at the end.

No. 4: Clemson

No. 3: Ohio State

No. 2: Oklahoma

No. 1: Alabama

I think Alabama will be the only undefeated team to get in (Central Florida may run the table but has no chance.).

I’ll save my yearly argument for a playoff system involving more teams for another time.

For now, let’s argue over other things we have no control over.

But at least we can feel involved for a little while, right?

This story was originally published October 30, 2017 at 3:51 PM with the headline "College Football Playoff rankings reveal more about us than the actual teams involved."