The UCLA Bruins sit at No. 5 in both the AP and Coaches Poll. But landed at No. 8 in the College Football Playoff rankings unveiled Tuesday, even falling behind two-loss Texas. And that brought out an agitated UCLA backer in ex-Alabama running back Damien Harris.
The CBS Sports college football analyst and former New England Patriots back went scorched earth in calling out the CFP rankings.
Damien Harris’ Rant Will Win Over UCLA Fans
Harris joined the rest of the panel in breaking down the first CFP rankings. And immediately zeroed in on how the Bruins deserve to be higher than the Longhorns.
“Does UCLA have more wins than Texas? They DO!” Harris shouted out. “Everybody in their right mind knows that UCLA with [coach] Bob Chesney, [running back] Wayne Knight and this defense that’s second in takeaways…they are better than the Texas Longhorns.”
Harris wasn’t through, asking “What does Texas have to hang their hat on?”
He even added this statement that will grab the attention of folks in Austin and the Texas campus.
“That Ohio State win is no longer impressive,” Harris said, as the Buckeyes also own two losses like the ‘Horns.
UCLA Not Even Highest Ranked Big Ten CFP Team
So the Bruins are higher ranked in the other two prominent rankings. That includes landing higher compared to the likes of defending national champion Indiana, or 7-2 Big Ten team and annual rival USC (Trojans earned the 20th ranking in the CFP).
But it’s IU, not UCLA, who sits higher at No. 5 thanks to the Tuesday announcement.
Indiana still owns one loss, which came to the aforementioned two-loss Buckeyes. But the Hoosiers aren’t the only team that somehow catapulted the Bruins.
Alabama joins Texas as two-loss teams earning a better spot compared to UCLA, with the Crimson Tide at No. 5. The Crimson Tide fell to No. 2 Georgia but also No. 14 Tennessee (which took 13th in the playoff rankings).
Kentucky is the only other team with a loss that owns a better CFP spot compared to the Bruins by earning the sixth slot. But UCLA is the only unbeaten falling outside of the top five of the CFP.
UCLA’s Path to College Football Playoffs
Now Chesney and the Bruins have their potential trap game coming up.
A red-hot Minnesota team is up next on Saturday in TCF Bank Stadium. The Golden Gophers own one top 25 victory already in toppling No. 21 Iowa at the same venue. Plus took the Hoosiers to the wire one week ago before Indiana pulled away 23-16.
So the Gophers’ venue will be rocking as their team aims to stun the college football world. And potentially make the CFP committee look like geniuses for ranking UCLA lower.
But the Bruins control their own destiny too in their path to the Big Ten Championship game. UCLA winning out places the Bruins in Indianapolis on Dec. 5 with the conference crown on the line. Which in turn seals the Bruins’ playoff fate as one of the Big Ten representatives in the field of 12.
National Title Winning RB Blasts CFP Rankings After Texas Lands Higher Than UCLA