Playoff rankings: Georgia keeps lead, while top five gets shuffled
The one constant in the top five of the penultimate College Football Playoff rankings released Tuesday was Georgia maintaining its hold on the No. 1 spot for the third consecutive week. It’s after the two-time defending champion Bulldogs where things got shaken up.
Michigan, which started at No. 3 in the initial rankings, moved up one spot this week to No. 2 following its defeat of Ohio State that secured the Big Ten East title and puts the Wolverines one win from the College Football Playoff. The Wolverines will face Iowa in the conference championship game.
Moving up to third is Washington, which improves one spot for the second consecutive week. Florida State holds down the No. 4 position after backup quarterback Tate Rodemaker guided the Seminoles to a road win at rival Florida. The leading quartet of unbeatens are seemingly in a win-and-get-in situation heading into conference championship weekend.
Oregon, buoyed by a win against Oregon State, is the top one-loss team at No. 5 after moving ahead of falling Ohio State. The Buckeyes slip four spots to sixth. Texas — with a head-to-head win in its favor — remains in front of Alabama at seventh and eighth, respectively. The top 10 is completed by Missouri and Penn State.
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No. 22 Tulane continues to be the top team in the Group of Five, two places ahead of Liberty. The highest-ranked champion from those five leagues will play in a New Year’s Six bowl game. The Green Wave face SMU for the American Athletic title. A win by the unranked Mustangs could push them ahead of the Flames, who host New Mexico State in the Conference USA championship game.
The SEC again leads all conferences with six teams appearing in the rankings. The ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and Pac-12 all have four teams. No other league has multiple representatives.
The final ranking of the committee will take place Dec. 3, and the top four teams will earn spots in the playoff. The semifinals will be played at the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1. The championship game will take place on Jan. 8 at NRG Stadium in Houston.
College Football Playoff committee Top 25
1. Georgia (12-0)
2. Michigan (12-0)
3. Washington (12-0)
4. Florida State (12-0)
5. Oregon (11-1)
6. Ohio State (11-1)
7. Texas (11-1)
8. Alabama (11-1)
9. Missouri (10-2)
10. Penn State (10-2)
11. Mississippi (10-2)
12. Oklahoma (10-2)
13. LSU (9-3)
14. Louisville (10-2)
15. Arizona (9-3)
16. Iowa (10-2)
17. Notre Dame (9-3)
18. Oklahoma State (9-3)
19. North Carolina State (9-3)
20. Oregon State (8-4)
21. Tennessee (8-4)
22. Tulane (11-1)
23. Clemson (8-4)
24. Liberty (12-0)
25. Kansas State (8-4)