By Nicole Auerbach, Austin Meek, Seth Emerson and Cameron Teague Robinson
After losing to Michigan 30-24 last weekend, Ohio State fell to No. 6 in the penultimate College Football Playoff rankings Tuesday. Here’s what you need to know:
- Georgia and Michigan remained Nos. 1 and 2 from the previous rankings. Washington bumped up one spot to No. 3 with Florida State nabbing the No. 4 slot.
- Oregon is the first team left out at No. 5. It faces Washington in the Pac-12 championship Friday.
- Saturday will have heavy implications on the playoff race: Georgia plays No. 8 Alabama in the SEC championship, Michigan plays Iowa in the Big Ten championship and Florida State plays Louisville in the ACC championship.
- The final CFP rankings will be revealed Sunday.
| CFP Rk | Team | Record | Prev | AP Rk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 12-0 | 1 | 1 | |
2 | 12-0 | 3 | 2 | |
3 | 12-0 | 4 | 3 | |
4 | 12-0 | 5 | 4 | |
5 | 11-1 | 6 | 5 | |
6 | 11-1 | 2 | 6 | |
7 | 11-1 | 7 | 7 | |
8 | 11-1 | 8 | 8 | |
9 | 10-2 | 9 | 9 | |
10 | 10-2 | 11 | 10 | |
11 | 10-2 | 12 | 11 | |
12 | 10-2 | 13 | 12 | |
13 | 9-3 | 14 | 13 | |
14 | 10-2 | 10 | 15 | |
15 | 9-3 | 15 | 14 | |
16 | 10-2 | 17 | 18 | |
17 | 9-3 | 18 | 16 | |
18 | 9-3 | 20 | 19 | |
19 | 9-3 | 22 | 21 | |
20 | 8-4 | 16 | 21 | |
22 | 11-1 | 23 | 17 | |
22 | 8-4 | 21 | NR | |
23 | 8-4 | 24 | NR | |
24 | 12-0 | 25 | 20 | |
25 | 8-4 | 19 | NR |
Any snubs?
I’ve got no qualms about the top four heading into conference championship weekend. Personally, I would have put Michigan at No. 1 after beating Ohio State (which was the committee’s No. 2 team last week — you’d think that would have moved a needle?) but it ultimately doesn’t matter much because I think a Georgia win over Alabama in the SEC championship game would return the Dawgs to the top spot anyway.
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What this set of rankings does is show us what happens if the four unbeaten Power 5 teams all win this weekend — it’ll look just like this. — Nicole Auerbach, senior college football writer
Did Michigan deserve to be No. 1?
It’s at least a discussion after the Wolverines beat Ohio State, the No. 2 team in last week’s rankings. Georgia’s best win is against No. 9 Missouri with another win against No. 11 Ole Miss. Michigan has beaten the Buckeyes and No. 10 Penn State. The top spot is debatable, but Georgia’s been ahead of Michigan all year and there isn’t a compelling reason to flip them now.
That means Georgia can lock up the No. 1 seed with a win against Alabama in the SEC championship and Michigan likely heads to the Rose Bowl as the No. 2 seed if the Wolverines beat Iowa. — Austin Meek, Michigan beat writer
No surprise for Georgia
At this point things seem pretty clear for Georgia: Win and in, lose and probably out, barring losses by Florida State and Texas. The “probably” part needs to be in there because the Bulldogs are No. 1 and it may seem a lot to drop a team all the way from No. 1 to No. 5 just for losing to another top 10 team on a neutral field. But as everyone realizes this is not a normal year. There are too many viable candidates in other conferences, and Alabama would probably jump ahead of Georgia by winning on Saturday.
Will there be arguments to the contrary if Georgia does lose a close game? Yes, and some have already started in Georgia and SEC circles. Would Georgia be heavily favored over Florida State, and also a favorite over Texas? Yes and yes. But if it were simply about the four best then Ohio State might get in the field too. The committee uses a lot of flowery language to justify what ends up being the four most deserving, and it’s likely to be that this year. (Having said all this, there’s a good chance Georgia just beats Alabama soundly and renders it all moot.) — Seth Emerson, Georgia beat writer
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FSU in with a win
Despite all the consternation in the wake of quarterback Jordan Travis’ season-ending injury, Florida State has re-entered the top four and is staring down a win-and-in scenario in Saturday’s ACC championship. There are some potentially wild, nervy playoff scenarios at play this weekend for a few programs, but backup QB or not, the committee has signaled that it isn’t keeping an undefeated P5 champ out of this year’s four-team field.
The Seminoles and quarterback Tate Rodemaker will have to earn it with a victory over Louisville in Charlotte, where they are currently favored by less than a field goal. But there will be no additional scoreboard watching or narrative spinning necessary. — Justin Williams, college football staff writer
GO DEEPER
Mandel's Mailbag: What's the outlook for Florida State without Jordan Travis? Texas' chance at CFP?
Buckeyes out for first time
Ohio State has fallen out of the College Football Playoff rankings for the first time this season. After losing to Michigan, the Buckeyes are sixth in the rankings, the second-highest-ranked one-loss team. This puts Ohio State in a tough position to work its way back into the top four, although not impossible.
The Buckeyes will need help from just about every conference championship game, starting Friday with Washington and Oregon. Oregon is the lone one-loss team ranked above the Buckeyes so they’ll need Washington to beat the Ducks to have any chance of jumping into the top four as well as Louisville beating Florida State in the ACC title game. The Buckeyes went into last weekend as a win-and-in candidate, but losing to the Wolverines has them a long shot to make their second straight playoff appearance. — Cameron Teague Robinson, Ohio State beat writer
Required reading
(Photo: Scott W. Grau / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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