Taking a look at College Football Playoff rankings
The College Football Playoff committee revealed their second set of rankings this week as we inch closer toward the final four-team playoff before expanding to 12 teams next season.
There was no change in the top four in the rankings. In fact, there was no change in the top eight of the rankings. Ohio State, Georgia, Michigan and Florida State remain at the top of the rankings with Washington, Oregon, Texas and Alabama on their heels.
Ole Miss and Penn State round out the top ten, each moving up a spot after Oklahoma fell to No. 17 following their loss to now-No. 15 Oklahoma State.
The Buckeyes still have the best pair of wins this season with their defeats of Penn State and Notre Dame, both still in the top 20 even after the Irish lost to Clemson.
Georgia picked up their first win over a ranked team, defeating Missouri, who still sits at No. 14. They can rack up two more ranked wins in the next two weeks. The Bulldogs head to Knoxville to face No. 13 Tennessee. Wins in those games and Georgia could very well jump ahead of Ohio State, who don’t face a ranked team until they play Michigan on November 25.
Michigan has yet to score a ranked win, but have two chances in the final three weeks, starting Saturday at Penn State. Of course, by now, we all know all the “distractions” the team is dealing with from their sign-stealing problems.
Florida State has the Week 1 win over LSU to hang their hat on and can wrap up an undefeated ACC regular season with a win Saturday against Miami. They’ve already locked up a spot in the ACC Championship Game, most likely against Louisville.
Washington has perhaps the best single win over Oregon and the two teams look destined to meet in the Pac-12 Championship Game before they, along with USC and UCLA, join the Big Ten next season. The winner of that game could very well find itslef in the playoffs. The committee overall likes the conference. Five teams are in this week’s rankings, including newcomer Arizona at No. 21 after they knocked out UCLA.
This week, playoff picture could begin to clear up for the field and the New Year’s Six.
Current projected bowl games (based on current rankings)
Rose: No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 4 Florida State
Sugar: No. 2 Georgia vs. No. 3 Michigan
Cotton: Oregon vs. Texas
Fiesta: Washington vs. Ole Miss
Orange: Louisville vs. Alabama
Peach: Penn State vs. Tulane
And here’s what the 12-team playoff would look like:
No. 1 Ohio State
No. 2 Georgia
No. 3 Florida State
No. 4 Washington
No. 5 Michigan vs. No. 12 Tulane
No. 6 Oregon vs. No. 11 Louisville
No. 7 Texas vs. No. 10 Penn State
No. 8 Alabama vs. No. 9 Ole Miss