Travis Hunter takes a neutral path after Kirby Smart rips apart College Football Playoff over "unjust" Rankings
Standout wide receiver, cornerback and Heisman Trophy candidate, Travis Hunter is a man of many talents. But even he has his limits, as he made clear on his show Thursday. When questioned about "unjust" comments by Kirby Smart about the CFP rankings, Hunter didn't pick sides.
"I'm not the committee," Hunter said. "I can't tell the committee what to do. I guess he could try to put input in, but I really can't do nothing about it. You do something about it? Georgia plays good football. God has a plan, man, and the committee, they control it, but God has a plan ... If other teams lose, they could clearly be in the College Football Playoff. Georgia's a real good team ... They've got to keep playing, not worry about all of that."
Kirby Smart was critical of College Football Playoff committee after his program was ranked No. 10, in contrast to their current No. 8 rankings by AP.
"It’s a hard one because I don’t know what they’re looking for," Smart said. "They can’t define that. It’s not simple, either. I mean, anybody can be on that committee and say, 'This is what we’re looking for.' This is our criteria and there’s so much that it overlaps things and everybody debates it and I don’t have time to really waste energy on it."
"It just seems unjust to me when you evaluate, somebody’s got a third-ranked defense or somebody’s got a fifth ranked defense," Smart added. "Well, don’t you think that third or fifth-ranked defense is dictated by who they’ve played on offense and how many top offenses they’ve played."
What's the controversy between Georgia and CFP?
Georgia's complaints arise out of a situation where the SEC likely has five relatively well-qualified CFP contenders who are battling for essentially four spots. Given that the other top four league champions have spots, Notre Dame is likely in, and the Big Ten has four rock-solid choices, there are only three at-large spots left for the SEC.
That margin could become even thinner if, say, Miami ends up seeking an at-large bid after losing the ACC title game. Georgia, before its recent win over Tennessee, was on the outside looking in. While the Bulldogs would be in the CFP field now, Smart is likely reacting to being potentially the last team in the field. Tennessee fell out of the current predicted bracket due to the loss against Georgia.
Georiga (8-2, 6-2 in SEC) has only lost to two other teams currently in the CFP field, Alabama and Ole Miss. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs have three wins over teams currently in the CFP top 20, which are Texas, Tennessee and Clemson.
Travis Hunter, the Heisman and the CFP
Travis Hunter, when he's not busy opining on relevant college football topics, remains a Heisman Trophy front-runner. Hunter is currently a -350 pick for the Heisman. His closest competition is Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty, who is going at about +400 odds.
Hunter has 74 receptions for 911 yards and nine touchdowns as a receiver. He has 24 tackles, 11 pass break ups, and three interceptions as a defensive back. His Buffaloes (8-2, 6-1 in Big 12) are currently No. 16 in the CFP rankings, suggesting that their best path to the playoff would be winning the Big 12 title over CFP No. 14 BYU (currently in the CFP field).
What do you think of the CFP's treatment of Georgia and Travis Hunter's unphased reaction? Share your thoughts below in our comments section!