Georgia is back on top after winning the national title last season. The Bulldogs were No. 1 in the AP poll last week, but were just No. 3 in the first week of the CFP rankings. That changed with Saturday’s win over last week’s CFP No. 1 team, Tennessee. Michigan jumped two spots to No. 3 after coming in at No. 5 last week. The Wolverines battled Rutgers for a half before beating the Scarlet Knights by 35 points. Two teams in front of Michigan lost last Saturday. LSU, which had the largest gap between its AP ranking (No. 15) and CFP ranking (No. 10) last week, moved up to No. 7 this week after topping then-No. 6 Alabama . The Tigers are in the driver’s seat in the SEC West, and appear to be in control of their CFP destiny despite two losses this season. Alabama fell three spots to No. 9 after its second loss of the season. The lowest the Crimson Tide has ever been ranked in the CFP poll is No. 13, during the final edition of the rankings in the 2019 season.
What does the committee think about the ACC after Saturday?
Clemson fell from No. 4 to No. 10 after losing by 21 points Saturday at Notre Dame, which entered this week ranked at No. 20. The ACC had five ranked teams last week, but just four this week, both Syracuse and Wake Forest fell out of the rankings after their respective third losses of the season. Florida State came in at No. 23.
Who has the inside track on the Group of 5’s New Year’s Six bowl offer?
Tulane is once again the top-ranked team of the 5, checking in at No. 17 after a 14-point win at Tulsa. The 8-1 Green Wave, who moved up from No. 19 last week, are joined once again this week in the rankings by fellow 5-school team UCF, who moved up from No. 25 to No. 22 this week.
Are Pac-12 Playoff Hopes Alive?
In short, yes. The Pac-12 has sent just two teams to the previous eight iterations of the four-team playoff, but with two top teams in this week’s rankings and four in the top-13, there’s plenty of meat left on the bones. for candidates to prove themselves. No. 6 Oregon plays back-to-back ranked teams in No. 25 Washington and No. 13 Utah before traveling to rival Oregon State, which was ranked No. 23 last week. And a potential Pac-12 title game will almost certainly be a top-10 matchup. No. 8 USC and No. 12 UCLA play each other next week in a CFP elimination game, and the Trojans next close with Notre Dame, now ranked No. 20. If the Pac- 12 to go 12-1 overall, it’s hard to see the conference falling out of the final four.
Full CFP Ranking
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