College Football Playoff rankings set the stage for rivalry week
The College Football Playoff rankings have revealed the clear favorites as teams gear up for rivalry week ahead of championship weekend.
If the top teams all win or don’t play, there won’t be much of a mystery about the release of the next College Football Playoff rankings. But that doesn’t mean that after an uneventful Week 13, there weren’t some notable things in the season’s fourth reveal.
Let’s start with the obvious. Ohio State maintained its No. 1 spot ahead of its matchup with Michigan. The Buckeyes must win to secure a spot in the Big Ten title game, and their likely opponent will be No. 2 Indiana, which has held onto its spot from No. 1 in the rankings.
Texas A&M, the other undefeated bowl district, remains in third place, followed by Georgia and Texas Tech. The Aggies can secure a spot in the SEC title game by defeating Texas.
There was one change in the second half of the top ten. This group has some danger heading into Week 14. Oregon State, which moved up one spot to No. 6, faces a tough test in Washington. No. 7 Mississippi State, which fell one spot, will play rival Mississippi State, while Oklahoma State, No. 8, must beat LSU to end the SEC humdrum. Notre Dame and Alabama will occupy the remaining two big team spots, with the Crimson Tide also facing arch-rival Auburn.
There are five schools lurking outside the top 10: Brigham Young, Miami, Utah, Vanderbilt, and Michigan. While the Cougars can control their destiny by winning the Big 12, the rest of the teams could also join the field with some help in the final two weeks. It’s worth noting that the Hurricanes are three games behind Notre Dame, the team they beat in the season opener. A win against No. 22 Pittsburgh would move Miami even closer and potentially eliminate the Fighting Irish.
There’s even more definition to how the race for an automatic bid to champion one of the Group of 5 conferences will play out. Tulane was the only team among the contenders ranked last week, leaving the Green Wave in 24th place. No one else joined the team.
If Tulane and North Texas both win this weekend, they will compete for the American Conference title, but unless one team loses, unranked James Madison will be out. The Dukes will not play a ranked opponent in the Sun Belt title game.
The rankings are the fourth of five the committee will release on Thursday. The next one will take place on December 2nd, after the 14th week. The College Football Playoff field will be revealed with final rankings on Sunday, December 7th.
CFP ranking top 25
- Ohio State University (11-0)
- Indiana (11-0)
- Texas A&M (11-0)
- Georgia (10-1)
- Texas Tech (10-1)
- Oregon State (10-1)
- Mississippi State (10-1)
- Oklahoma (9-2)
- Notre Dame (9-2)
- Alabama (9-2)
- Brigham Young (10-1)
- Miami (9-2)
- Utah (9-2)
- Vanderbilt (9-2)
- Michigan (9-2)
- Texas (8-3)
- Southern California (8-3)
- Virginia (9-2)
- Tennessee (8-3)
- Arizona State University (8-3)
- SMU (8-3)
- Pittsburgh (8-3)
- Georgia Tech (9-2)
- Tulane (9-2)
- Arizona (8-3)
How will the College Football Playoff go based on rankings?
first round
No. 12 Tulane at No. 5 Texas Tech
No. 11 Miami vs. No. 6 Oregon
No. 10 Alabama vs. No. 7 Mississippi
No. 9 Notre Dame, No. 8 Oklahoma
quarterfinals
No. 4 Georgia State vs. Tulane/Texas Tech Winner
No. 3 Winner of Texas A&M vs. Miami-Oregon
good. 2 Winner of Indiana vs. Alabama-Mississippi
No. 1 Ohio State vs. Notre Dame Oklahoma State Winner
What is the College Football Playoff schedule?
The format of this year’s playoffs has been changed so that the champions of the four highest-rated teams in the conference are no longer guaranteed first-round byes, as they were last season in the first year of the 12-team system. The committee will seed all qualifying teams, including the top five conference champions, and then the top four teams will receive byes, regardless of league.
The on-campus first-round schedule will see No. 5 play No. 12, No. 6 play No. 11, No. 7 play No. 10 and No. 8 play No. 9.
The winners of these games will advance to the quarterfinals, which will be played at the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 31. The remaining three games in the round will be played on January 1st, with the Orange Bowl starting that day, followed by the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl. The Fiesta Bowl and Peach Bowl will hold semifinals on January 8th and January 9th, respectively.
The championship game will be held on January 19th at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
