Did 6-6 Vanderbilt Get Snubbed From The Top 25 AND The College Football Playoff?

**CFP committee member leans in and whispers to other CFP committee member** "I know I can't say this, but if I could put in any team, it would be Vandy."

One of the biggest criteria for making the College Football Playoff is not who you beat, it's who you lost to. If there is one thing we can all agree on, it's that Vanderbilt undoubtedly has more quality losses on the very tough schedule than anyone in the country and because of this, they deserve to be in the top 25 and at least have some consideration for a bid to the playoff. Before we even touch on this, let's talk quickly about their talent.

NFL Prospects:

Kyle Shurmur - 23 TDs, 6 Ints, 3 year starter

Ke'Shawn Vaughn - 1,001 rushing yards, 10 TDs, 7.0 YPC

Ok, I think you get the point.

Let's dive into the resume.

Wins : Middle Tennessee (8-5 Record) Score: 35-7, Nevada (7-5 Record) Score: 41-10, Tennessee State (Record who cares) Score: 31-27, Arkansas (Record 2-10, but in the SEC they were 0-8) 45-31, Ole Miss (Record 5-7) Score: 36-29, Former National Champion Tennessee (Record 5-7) Score: 38-13.

No need to go into the details on wins. A win is a win. One quick take from those games though is that this team can SCORE.

Onto the quality losses.

L Notre Dame #3 (Record 12-0) Score 22-17

Vandy was giving the Irish problems all day. The Irish just booked their ticket to the playoff and Vandy proved right here that they can hang with the best by only losing by 5 to the third best team in the country. As far as I'm concerned, this game could've gone either way and shouldn't really count against them.

L South Carolina (Record 7-5) Score: 37-14

"Come on Mr. Football Guy, this was bad." I get it, but South Carolina is no slouch. They are a tough SEC team who had Clemson (13-0) on the ropes in their matchup in the first half. This game was only 20-14 at half and I think the Gamecocks ran up the score on their conference opponent. It was an off day. A wise man once said, "If we are going to give Ohio State a pass for losing to Purdue, why can't Sonny have his kid?" Mulligan.

L Georgia #5 (Record 10-2) Score: 41-13

Very uncharacteristic game by the Commodore defense. The story of this game was the big play. If you take away the 75 yard TD pass in the 1st quarter, the 24 yard TD run by Holyfield in the 2nd quarter and the 35 yard TD pass to Swift in the 3rd quarter, this is a close ball game. Pretty ugly win for the Dawgs after taking out the lucky big plays if you ask me. The fumble recovery for a TD kind of hurt too when the Commodores were attempting a comeback. Bottom line, this was a loss to a great Georgia team that was beating Bama by two TDs. Give Vandy a two TD lead against Bama in the 3rd quarter and I guarantee you they hang on for the win.

L Florida #10 (Record 9-3) Score: 37-27

Vandy had the lead 21-13 at halftime, let's start there. Then they missed a field goal to take a two score in the 3rd quarter. The Commodores couldn't seem to catch a break in the second half. This game was a battle until the final whistle, but anyone who watches 200 football games per year from their couch knows that Florida didn't win this one - Vanderbilt lost it and beat themselves.

HALFTIME

Man, this blogging this is tiring, but I'm not here to make excuses. I'm here to convince the World that Vandy deserves a shot at the playoff. **sprays water bottle in mouth** ** spits out water** ** sprays water on face and neck** ** runs back on to the field**

Kentucky #14 (9-3) Score 14-7

Another battle on the road. This one was tied 7-7 at half and Vandy missed a crucial field goal early in the third. You're probably thinking the same thing as me: "If Vandy's kicker was just a little bit better, they would probably be 8-0 and ranked #1 at this point in the season." A late score for Kentucky was all it took to win this one, even though the Commodore defense showed once again why it's one of the best by getting a big stop to give it's offense a second shot at victory. I feel like a broken record, but again, this was a loss to a very good team and one that just so happens to be ranked #14.

Mizzou #23 (8-4) - Score 33-28

What's that? Another ranked team Vandy was beating at halftime? Another costly missed field goal? That's right. They should've had this one. They were in the driver seat the whole game and just ran out of time to get that final score. Another loss to a very good ranked opponent.

There you have it. The best compilation of quality losses of any team in the country. Give Vandy some weak ACC or PAC 12 schedule and they are probably one loss conference champions with a bid to the playoff. It's pathetic how simple minded the committee is and how they can't see the difficulty of this schedule. Did I convince you? Probably not, but find me one team that would have more wins with this schedule. You can't and I'm not waiting around for you to try to figure it out.

-Mr. Football Guy