College Football Playoff Rankings: Alabama Above Miami Controversy, Oregon Ducks No. 1
The penultimate College Football Playoff Rankings were released on Tuesday night, and the selection committee still has some difficult decisions to make. The No. 1 Oregon Ducks finished the regular season undefeated, earning the top spot as the only team in the country without a loss.
Now that 12 teams make the CFP, the controversy arises when ranking teams from No. 9 to No. 14. Ohio State dropped from No. 2 to No. 6 after a shocking upset to Michigan over the weekend. Miami dropped six spots to No. 12, and they are currently the first team on the outside looking in.
Most notably, Miami fell behind No. 11 Alabama, and the Crimson Tide have the inside track to receiving the final at-large bid.
SEC teams like No. 14 South Carolina, No. 13 Ole Miss, and Alabama all have three losses. Both Ole Miss and Alabama beat the Gamecocks, but the Rebels and the Crimson Tide did not face each other in the regular season. The selection committee has made its thoughts clear on the SEC hierarchy with this week's rankings.
Clemson fell from No. 12 to No. 17 after losing to South Carolina. They were the second-biggest movers, in between Miami and Ohio State.
Ohio State and coach Ryan Day lost at home in the biggest upset of the season to their bitter rival, the Michigan Wolverines. Ohio State only scored 10 points in the losing effort, and the Buckeyes can no longer compete for a Big Ten title. Instead, the No. 3 Penn State Nittany Lions will face the Ducks in Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship Game.
Additionally, Syracuse upset Miami and coach Mario Cristobal, knocking them out of the ACC Championship Game. Should the No. 8 SMU Mustangs win the ACC in their first season as conference members, they are all-but guaranteed a first-round bye.
All signs point to the No. 10 Boise State Broncos receiving a first-round bye in the CFP if they can beat No. 20 UNLV in the Mountain West Championship Game. The Big 12 Championship will feature No. 16 Arizona State and No. 16 Iowa State. Should the Sun Devils win on Saturday, will it be enough to leapfrog Boise State?
Updated CFP Rankings (seed in parentheses):
1 Oregon (1)
2 Texas (2)
3 Penn State (5)
4 Notre Dame (6)
5 Georgia (7)
6 Ohio State (8)
7 Tennessee (9)
8 SMU (3)
9 Indiana (10)
10 Boise State (4)
11 Alabama (11)
12 Miami
13 Ole Miss
14 South Carolina
15 Arizona State (12)
16 Iowa State
17 Clemson
18 BYU
19 Missouri
20 UNLV
21 Illinois
22 Syracuse
23 Colorado
24 Army
25 Memphis
If they win their respective conference championship games on Saturday, Boise State and SMU climb into the top four. Ole Miss and Miami are currently projected to be the first two teams to miss the 12-team playoff field.
If Oregon wins the Big Ten Championship over Penn State, the Ducks will wait in the semifinal to face the winner of the No. 9 and No. 8 seeds, currently projected to be Tennessee and Ohio State. If the Nittany Lions win the Big Ten, then Oregon is expected to hold the No. 5 seed, hosting a first-round playoff game in Autzen Stadium.
The final College Football Rankings will be released on Sunday.
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