Column: No resume to respect

On Tuesday, the College Football Playoff selection committee unveiled its first rankings of the season.

Twenty-five teams made the cut, including all 11 undefeated squads and six of the seven remaining one-loss Power Five programs.

North Carolina (7-1) wasn’t invited.

The selection committee bestowed honor upon six two-loss squads and four teams from the Group of Five conferences — prompting quarterback Marquise Williams to complain on Twitter about the Tar Heels not getting any respect from the voters.

As they shouldn’t.

Despite riding a seven-game winning streak, North Carolina has feasted on two teams from the Football Championship Subdivision and owns one win over an opponent with a winning record — a one-score triumph over Pittsburgh, a squad with an equally unimpressive resume.

In fact, UNC has yet to even face a team in the initial top-25 rankings, let alone beat one.

And with the committee’s clear emphasis on strength of schedule, it should come as no surprise where North Carolina falls in the debut poll.

While admittedly an imperfect measure, ESPN’s Strength of Schedule ranking grades UNC’s competition as the 83rd-toughest in the country. Of the six two-loss teams topping the Tar Heels, each boasts a more rigorous slate than North Carolina, according to the metric.

Even the undefeated Group of Five teams — No. 13 Memphis (8-0), No. 24 Toledo (7-0) and No. 25 Houston (8-0) — have defeated SEC foes, a feat North Carolina failed to accomplish in its season opener.

Ironically, had Williams lofted the ball a few feet higher in the waning moments of UNC’s loss against SEC cellar-dweller South Carolina (3-5, 1-5 SEC), the committee would have been hard-pressed to deny the Tar Heels a top-15 spot.

Among Power Five programs, No. 14 Oklahoma State (8-0) was the lowest-ranked undefeated team, while No. 16 Florida State (7-1) claimed the final spot among one-loss squads. An unbeaten Power Five team with a paltry schedule would have presumably fit snugly between those two schools.

But alas, Williams’ final throw against the Gamecocks was one of three ill-advised interceptions to permanently taint the Tar Heels’ record — and knock them from the ranks of college football’s elite.

Now, two months removed from its one unflattering loss, UNC finds itself on the outside looking in. With four games remaining against unranked opponents, the Tar Heels’ chances to bolster their resume are few and far between.

Even if North Carolina runs the table, earns a berth in the ACC Championship Game and miraculously topples Clemson — the committee’s top-ranked team — UNC would still likely succumb to an undefeated conference champion or a one-loss powerhouse from the SEC, Big Ten or Big-12.

Sporting an unsavory loss and few quality wins, the Tar Heels simply lack the resume to gain favor within the selection committee.

Surely Williams can respect that.

@CJacksonCowart