Monkey could improve College Football Playoff rankings

I think a monk could see things more clearly. Seriously. A guy whose ancestors used spheres as magnifying glasses to read back in the middle ages. I think anyone who lives alone or with other monks and voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society for a life of prayer and contemplation would own a sharper sense of focus when it comes to this ridiculous eye test theory that is ruining any semblance of logic regarding college sports.

They should put a monk on the College Football Playoff committee.

Or a monkey.

I know. I know. It's only the first set of rankings. There are five more weeks of a 12-person committee slotting those teams it believes should at a particular moment advance to the four-team playoff.

Ohio State was 16th when the initial rankings were unveiled for the 2014 season.

It won the whole thing.

Things will change dramatically over the next month, except for committee chairman Jeff Long talking in more more circles than you would find on a geometry test when explaining some of the conclusions he and peers make weekly.

That part never changes.

Clemson is a deserved No. 1 at this point. The committee got that one correct, given the Tigers have played the toughest schedule of all unbeaten sides. Louisiana State is a solid choice at No. 2 because it also rates extremely high in metrics such as strength of record (third nationally) and game control (second).

Ohio State is No. 3 and hasn't yet played a ranked team, but as a defending champion who's winning by an average of 23 points, it's not a ridiculous spot.

But you can decipher certain trends (blunders) this early, and by putting Alabama at No. 4 in Tuesday's inaugural rankings, the committee and many of those talking heads from the Southeastern Conference television network, uh, I mean ESPN, who supported such a placement again displayed a bias that is now both expected and tedious.

I can't tell you how much I loathe this ridiculous eye test theory.

Maybe those watching are blind.

After all, whose eyes are to be most trusted?

This happens once every decade, but I actually agreed with something ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit said Tuesday — that the committee didn't view their decisions in an old-school manner and automatically place unbeaten teams ahead of those with one loss.

Of course, this was after Herbstreit and fellow Ohio State alum/analyst Joey Galloway each stated they believed the Buckeyes should be No. 1, so we can all sleep well at night knowing these two guys are in midseason form when it comes to shameless favoritism.

But on which eye test should Alabama be the highest ranked one-loss team? On the one that says it lost to Mississippi, which is now 7-2, in Tuscaloosa? On the one that says Alabama as a 15-point home favorite was losing to Tennessee (now 4-4) with under three minutes remaining and survived 19-14 on a day the Volunteers missed three field goals?

That's not an eye test.

That's a facts test.

Notre Dame, ranked fifth, also has a top-five schedule and owns a much better loss (at Clemson) than Alabama.

Memphis is undefeated and beat Mississippi by 13, the same bunch that knocked off the Crimson Tide. Memphis is ranked 13th, nine spots lower than Alabama, but it's also true the Tigers as a non-Power 5 team had as much chance receiving an impartial blind resume look from the committee as Herbstreit does wearing Michigan pajamas.

Florida is actually a one-loss SEC team that beat Mississippi (by 28, no less), and yet is ranked six spots behind Alabama at 10.

It's obvious the committee realizes all Big 12 Conference contenders (unbeaten Baylor, Texas Christian and Oklahoma State and one-loss Oklahoma) have yet to play each other, so the fact none are ranked among the top four today means little.

It's also obvious those in the room voting have little respect for the Pac-12, given one-loss Stanford is the league's highest rated team at No. 11.

It's early. It's way early. There are too many significant games remaining to draw any sort of conclusions to the rankings, except for one older than dirt: For whatever reason, Alabama, 5-5 in its last 10 games against top 15 teams, receives a level of respect and a benefit of the doubt, deserved or not, that is unconscionable in every way.

I'm telling you, a monk would be far more unbiased. His eyes would be sharper.

The monkey, too.

Ed Graney can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4618. He can be a heard on "Seat and Ed" on Fox Sports 1340 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. On Twitter: @edgraney