Boise State moves ahead of BYU, SEC teams get shuffled in latest CFP rankings
USA TODAY Sports’ Dan Wolken breaks down the third edition of the College Football Playoff rankings.
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The places at the top of the College Football Playoff rankings, as expected, did not change in this week’s release by the committee Tuesday.
No. 1 Oregon maintained its position and was followed by Ohio State for the third consecutive week. Texas held firm at No. 3 with Penn State and Indiana coming next, giving the Big Ten four of the top five teams for the second consecutive rankings.
Where there was mystery was in the second half of the top 10 after No. 6 Brigham Young and No. 7 Tennessee both lost in Week 12. Notre Dame moved to sixth, while Alabama leapfrogged Miami and moved into the No. 7 spot ahead of the Hurricanes. Mississippi and Georgia round out the top 10 with the Volunteers falling to No. 11.
BYU slipped eight places to No. 14, behind Mountain West leader Boise State. The Broncos check in at No. 12 and are higher than all the other Big 12 schools, meaning they could be in line for a first-place bye given to the four highest-rated conference champions. The other Big 12 schools in the rankings are No. 16 Colorado, No. 21 Arizona State and No. 22 Iowa State.
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In addition to Boise State, No. 19 Army and No. 20 Tulane of the American Athletic are Group of Five schools represented in the rankings. The highest-rated Group of Five champion is guaranteed a spot in the playoff.
The SEC remains the top conference among ranked teams. The league has eight schools, with LSU falling out after a losses. The Big Ten is second with five teams and the Big 12 have four. The ACC is the other power conference with multiple teams at three. The Mountain West has two schools with addition of No. 24 UNLV this week.
This is the third ranking release of the College Football Playoff committee. There will be two more reveals on the next two Tuesdays. The final rankings will be unveiled Dec. 8, which will set the playoff bracket with 12 teams selected for the field.
What is the College Football Playoff schedule?
First-round games will take place Dec. 20 and Dec. 21 at campus sites with the higher seeds hosting. The No. 5 seed will play the No. 12 seed, No. 6 faces No. 11, No. 7 matches up with No. 10 and No. 8 meets No. 9.
Winners of those games will advance to the quarterfinals. The Fiesta Bowl will be played on Dec. 31. The Sugar Bowl, Rose Bowl and Peach Bowl will be played Jan. 1.
The Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl will host the semifinals on Jan. 9 and Jan. 10, respectively.
The championship game will be played on Jan. 20 in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The schedule based on this week’s rankings would look like this:
First-round games (with seeding)
No. 12 Brigham Young at No. 5 Ohio State
No. 11 Georgia at No. 6 Penn State
No. 10 Mississippi at No. 7 Indiana
No. 9 Alabama at No. 8 Notre Dame
Quarterfinals
Fiesta Bowl: No. 4 Boise State vs. Ohio State-Brigham Young winner
Peach Bowl: No. 3 Miami vs. Penn State-Georgia winner
Sugar Bowl: No. 2 Texas vs. Indiana-Mississippi winner
Rose Bowl: No. 1 Oregon vs. Notre Dame-Alabama winner
College Football Playoff rankings Top 25
1. Oregon (11-0)
2. Ohio State (9-1)
3. Texas (9-1)
4. Penn State (9-1)
5. Indiana (10-0)
6. Notre Dame (9-1)
7. Alabama (8-2)
8. Miami (Fla) (9-1)
9. Mississippi (8-2)
10. Georgia (8-2)
11. Tennessee (8-2)
12. Boise State (9-1)
13. SMU (9-1)
14. Brigham Young (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)