Indiana Stays Put At No. 5 In College Football Rankings

Undefeated Indiana would host Ole Miss in the current projected playoff bracket.

Indiana Hoosiers wide receiver Ke'Shawn Williams (5) celebrates a catch in the first quarter against the Michigan Wolverines at Memorial Stadium. / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – On the surface, nothing changed for Indiana football in the third edition of the College Football Playoffs released on Tuesday.

Indiana remains in the No. 5 spot in the CFP rankings just as it was a week ago.

What did change for Indiana – and any other team that might be on the cusp of making or not making the field – is the threat of multiple conference champions not being in the top 12 in the rankings.

This is the scenario that played out in the rankings released on Tuesday. It didn’t affect the Hoosiers – Tennessee was the team on the wrong side of the cut line – but it could if the No. 5 Hoosiers lose at No. 2 Ohio State on Saturday.

The five best conference champions automatically make the field. The top four of them get a bye into the quarterfinals. This is true regardless of whether these champions are in the top 12 of the rankings or not.

In the latest rankings, Boise State, the Mountain West Conference leaders, earned the No. 12 seed, but the Broncos jumped over BYU, the highest-ranked Big 12 team. The Cougars are currently ranked No. 14.

In this scenario, Boise State would get the No. 4 seed and BYU would get the 12th and last seed as the fifth-best conference champion.

That left No. 11 Tennessee out of the playoff bracket entirely.

What all of that could mean for Indiana is that the manner of its performance on Saturday could play a part in the Hoosiers’ fate. If Indiana wins? The Hoosiers would have no problems. They’d rise in the rankings and be insulated against upsets elsewhere.

If Indiana loses to the Buckeyes? It’s all in the manner of how. If Indiana loses a close game, the Hoosiers likely won’t be punished too much in the rankings as they demonstrated competitiveness in a difficult road environment.

If the Hoosiers get beat handily? Indiana could be in trouble. The Hoosiers have the 106th ranked schedule in FBS football. A heavy loss could send the Hoosiers tumbling to a ranking where their playoff participation would be in question.

A modest loss – in the 10-15-point range – would create a lot of ambiguity on Indiana’s fate.

“Watching the games and watching the teams play carries the day for most of us. We look at the data. We look at the stats. We see how other people compare and strength of schedule and all of those things,” CFP committee chairman Warde Manuel said.

“But we also have to watch the games and see how teams are performing in all facets of the game and that lends itself in the discussion of how people see the teams perform. It’s a lot of debate, a lot of discussion, but that’s the value of having 13 members of this committee and the discussion that goes on,” Manuel added.

The Indiana-Ohio State game will serve as an elimination game for the Big Ten championship game. On Tuesday, the Big Ten announced that Oregon had already clinched a spot regardless of whether it wins or loses against Washington on Nov. 29.

If Indiana loses to Ohio State, the Hoosiers would need a lot of help to still qualify for the Big Ten championship game … and the chance to win their way into a bye in the CFP bracket.

As it stands right now, Indiana would host Ole Miss in a projected playoff game at Memorial Stadium on Dec. 20 or Dec. 21, but there’s a lot of football to be played between now and when the final bracket is announced on Dec. 8.

Indiana is one of four Big Ten teams in the first projected playoff bracket along with No. 1 Oregon, No. 2 Ohio State and No. 4 Penn State.

Here is how the playoff bracket is formed:

• The five highest-rated conference champions make the field. Four of them will receive byes to the quarterfinals as the top four seeds. The fifth champion gets the No. 12 seed if they are outside the top 12 in the rankings.

• The other seven teams are at-large selections from across FBS. The are slotted in the No. 5-No. 11 seed range.

• The eight teams that don’t receive byes play the first round on campus sites. The No. 5-8 seeds will host those games.

The full College Football Playoff Rankings:

Playoff qualifiers

1. Oregon, 11-0, best Big Ten seed, No. 1 seed in the playoff bracket.

2. Ohio State, 9-1, as an at-large selection, the Buckeyes move to the No. 5 seed in the playoff bracket.

3. Texas, 9-1, best SEC seed, the Longhorns move up to the No. 2 seed in the playoff bracket

4. Penn State, 9-1, as an at-large selection, the Nittany Lions move to the No. 6 seed in the playoff bracket

5. Indiana, 10-0, as an at-large selection, the Hoosiers would move to the No. 7 seed in the playoff bracket.

6. Notre Dame, 9-1, as an at-large selection, the Fighting Irish would move to the No. 8 seed in the playoff bracket.

7. Alabama, 8-2, as an at-large selection, the Crimson Tide would move to the No. 9 seed in the playoff bracket.

8. Miami, 9-1, best ACC seed, No. 3 seed in the playoff bracket.

9. Ole Miss, 8-2, as an at-large selection, the Rebels would move to the No. 10 seed in the bracket.

10. Georgia, 8-2, at-large selection, the Bulldogs would move to the No. 11 seed in the bracket.

12. Boise State, 9-1, best non-Power Four conference champion and ahead of the fourth-best Power Four champion, the Broncos would be the No. 4 seed in the playoff bracket.

14. BYU 9-1, best Big 12 seed, the Cougars would be the No. 12 seed in the playoff bracket based on being the fifth-best conference champion.

Non-qualifying teams

11. Tennessee, 8-2, left out of field due to two conference champions being ranked behind them.

13. SMU, 9-1.

15. Texas A&M, 8-2.

16. Colorado, 8-2.

17. Clemson, 8-2.

18. South Carolina, 7-3.

19. Army, 9-0.

20. Tulane, 9-2.

21. Arizona State, 8-2.

22. Iowa State, 8-2.

23. Missouri, 7-3.

24. UNLV, 8-2

25. Illinois, 7-3

The projected playoff field

First round (Dec. 20-21 at campus sites)

No. 12 BYU at No. 5 Ohio State

No. 11 Georgia at No. 6 Penn State

No. 10 Ole Miss at No. 7 Indiana

No. 9 Alabama at No. 8 Notre Dame

Quarterfinals (Dec. 31-Jan. 1, played at traditional bowl sites: Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Peach Bowl)

Ohio State-BYU winner vs. No. 4 Boise State

Penn State-Georgia winner vs. No. 3 Miami

Indiana-Ole Miss winner vs. No. 2 Texas

Notre Dame-Alabama winner vs. No. 1 Oregon

Semifinals (Jan. 9-10, played at traditional bowl sites: Orange Bowl, Cotton Bowl)

Ohio State-BYU-Boise State winner vs. Notre Dame-Alabama-Oregon winner

Penn State-Georgia-Miami winner vs. Indiana-Ole Miss-Texas winner

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