Ohio, Indiana And Texas A&M remained among the top three teams in the latest College Football Playoff rankings released Tuesday, while Alabama dropped six places to 10th after losing to Oklahoma.
The Crimson Tide now trail in ninth place. Our Ladyalthough they have more top-25 wins (four) than the Irish (one). Georgiawhich Alabama beat in September, moved up to 4th place, and Texas Tech rose to number 5, Ole Miss up to No. 6, Oregon to No. 7 and Oklahoma moved up three spots to No. 8 after a 23-21 win in Tuscaloosa.
BYU ranks 11th, followed by Utah at No. 12, Miami at No. 13, Vanderbilt at number 14 and USC at No. 15. The Hurricanes jumped two spots after beating North Carolina Statebut they trail Notre Dame by four spots, which is a big point of contention among Miami and the ACC. Both teams had identical 8-2 records, but Miami beat Notre Dame 27-24 to open the season.
Earlier this week, Miami coach Mario Cristobal was asked how head-to-head games should be considered when comparing CFP resumes and he responded: “The No. 1 criterion is always head-to-head. That's why we play this game, right? That has always been and will always be the No. 1 factor.”
The big difference between the teams is the losses: Notre Dame has lost close games to two ranked teams (Miami and Texas A&M) and Miami has lost to two unranked teams (Louisville, SMU).
“Miami needs to continue to win the football games that come their way and good things will happen,” said Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek, who took over as chairman of the selection committee this week and answered more questions about the Canes than any other team in the rankings.
Yurachek said on ESPN that at this point, “we haven't really compared these teams,” referring to Miami and Notre Dame. However, Yurachek said if both teams end up at comparable levels, “the rivalry will be an important indicator.”
“To date, they have not participated in similar comparison pools,” Yurachek said. “But Miami is getting to the point where they will be compared to Notre Dame if something happens over them.”
TexasMeanwhile, the hopes of the general public were dashed. The Longhorns dropped seven spots to No. 17 after a 35-10 loss to Georgia, falling to 7-3, behind No. 16. Georgia Tech. Michigan No. 18, Virginia No. 19 and Tennessee rose three positions to 20th place.
Illinois, Missouri, Houston, Tulane And Arizona We round out the top 25.
The five highest-ranked conference champions will make up the 12-team field, but the format will change this year as the committee uses a direct seeding model. The top four teams in the final rankings, regardless of conference championship, will receive a first-round bye.
If the playoffs were held today, the first round matches would be: Tulane vs. Texas Tech; Miami at Ole Miss; Alabama and Oregon; Notre Dame in Oklahoma. While Miami is considered the ACC's highest-ranked team in the current rankings, the Hurricanes have a strong chance of winning the conference title.
If Georgia Tech wins Pitt on Saturday and Virginia beats Virginia Tech These two teams will play for the ACC Championship next week. The winner will automatically earn a spot among the five highest-ranked conference champions.
For Miami to advance to the ACC title game, the Hurricanes must win; let Virginia, Georgia Tech and SMU lose their remaining games; and have Duke lose one of the last two games. ESPN FPI currently gives Georgia Tech a 35.3% chance to win the ACC and Virginia a 32.7%.
The SEC again led Tuesday with nine ranked teams, while the Big Ten has six, the Big 12 has five with the additions of Houston and Arizona State, and the ACC has three after Pitt was eliminated following a 37-15 loss to Notre Dame. Tulane replaced USF as the best representative of Group 5.
Even though Alabama dropped to 10th place, the Crimson Tide still have a good chance of making the SEC Championship, all but guaranteeing a spot in the CFP regardless of the outcome. Alabama has a 71% chance of getting to Atlanta with just one SEC game left, according to ESPN Research. Auburn in the Iron Bowl.
Georgia finished in SEC play but would lose to Alabama in the tiebreaker. If Texas A&M wins at Texas next weekend, the Aggies will earn a spot in Atlanta.
Texas A&M overcame a 30-3 halftime deficit to beat South Carolina 31-30 last week. It came a week after second-ranked Indiana needed a late rally to barely win. Penn State.
“The committee saw at Indiana and Texas A&M that good teams find ways to win even when they don't play their best,” Yurachek said.
In the Big Ten, Ohio State and Indiana are in good shape to make the CFP. This weekend is a crucial conference game that will have major implications for the Big Ten and the place as a whole as No. 15 USC travels to play No. 7 Oregon.
In the Big 12, Texas Tech and BYU are the only two teams with one conference loss, so if they win, they will compete for the conference title.
Commissioner Brett Yormark seemed pleased: “I'm very pleased to see the Big 12 Conference getting the respect it deserves,” he said.
The final CFP rankings will be announced Dec. 7, the day after the conference championship. Four first-round games will be played on the home campuses of the higher-seeded teams on Dec. 19 and 20. The four quarterfinal games will be played at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl (Dec. 31), Capital One Orange Bowl (Jan. 1), Prudential's Rose Bowl Game (Jan. 1) and the Allstate Sugar Bowl (Jan. 1).
The two semifinal games will take place at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl and Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on January 8 and 9, respectively.
The CFP National Championship game will take place on January 19 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Information from The Associated Press was included in this report.
