Dec. 3 (UPI) — Ole Miss and Alabama were among the teams to rise in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, while Notre Dame fell, the committee announced.
The Ohio State Buckeyes (12-0) and Indiana Hoosiers (12-0) remained the Top-2 teams in the rankings for the second consecutive week. The full Top-25 penultimate College Football Playoff rankings are available here.
More rankings shakeups will occur this weekend ahead of tournament selection day, as conference title games determine the fate of the nation’s top programs.
“Each of the championship games will just give us another game and another datapoint to evaluate the teams that participate in those championship games and the idle teams around them,” CFP selection committee chairman Hunter Yurachek told reporters Tuesday.
“We’ll re-rank the teams one last time this weekend, and the five highest ranked conference championships and the seven highest ranked at-large teams will advance to the College Football Playoff.”
The Buckeyes used their 27-9 thrashing of rival Michigan to hold their spot, while dropping the Wolverines (9-3) from No. 15 to 19. The Hoosiers followed the Buckeyes as the second team in the Top 25 for the fourth consecutive week by dismantling the Purdue Boilermakers 56-3.
The Texas A&M Aggies (11-1) dropped from No. 3 to 7 after suffering their first loss of the season against the Texas Longhorns (9-3), who climbed from No. 16 to 13.
The No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs (11-1) used a 16-9 win over Georgia Tech to move up one spot in the rankings. The Yellow Jackets (9-3) moved up from No. 23 to 22, despite the setback.
No. 4 Texas Tech (11-1), No. 5 Oregon (11-1) and No. 6 Ole Miss (11-1) also moved up one spot in the rankings due to victories and Texas A&M’s loss.
“Texas A&M, with that loss, they fell into that group of five really strong one-loss teams: Georgia, Texas Tech, Oregon, Ole Miss and Texas A&M,” Yurachek said.
“Georgia got the nod just based on their strength of schedule and the wins they’ve had over ranked teams.”
The No. 8 Oklahoma Sooners (10-2), who beat LSU 17-13, held their spot for the third consecutive week.
The Alabama Crimson Tide (9-2), who beat rival Auburn in the Iron Bowl, climbed from No. 10 to 9. They replaced the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-2), who beat Stanford 49-20, but fell one spot in the rankings.
The No. 11 BYU Cougars (11-1) and No. 12 Miami Hurricanes (10-2) held onto their positions in the rankings. The Cougars beat UCF 41-21 for their third consecutive win. The Hurricanes crushed Pittsburgh 38-7. The Panthers (8-4), who were ranked No. 22, fell out of the Top 25.
The No. 14 Vanderbilt Commodores (10-2), who beat Tennessee 45-24, swapped spots with the No. 15 Utah Utes (10-2). The loss resulted in an exit from the poll for the Volunteers (8-4), who were ranked No. 19 last week.
The No. 16 USC Trojans (8-3) and No. 17 Virginia Cavaliers (10-2) each climbed one spot. The Arizona Wildcats (9-3) used a 23-7 win over Arizona State to jump from No. 25 to 18. The Sun Devils (8-3), ranked No. 20 last week, exited the rankings due to the setback.
The Tulane Green Wave (10-2), who shut out Charlotte 27-0, moved from No. 24 to 20.
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The No. 21 Houston Cougars (9-3) and No. 23 Iowa Hawkeyes (8-4) returned to the Top 25. The No. 24 North Texas Mean Green (11-1) and No. 25 James Madison Dukes (11-1) made their College Football Playoff rankings debuts.
The SMU Mustangs (8-4), who were ranked No. 21, but suffered a 38-35 loss to Cal, exited the rankings.
No. 25 James Madison will play Troy for the Sun Belt title at 7 p.m. EST Friday in Harrisonburg, Va. No. 20 Tulane will take on No. 24 North Texas in the AAC title game at 8 p.m. Friday in New Orleans. No. 4 Texas Tech will take on No. 11 BYU in the Big 12 finale at noon Saturday in Arlington, Texas.
No. 9 Alabama will battle No. 3 Georgia in the SEC finale at 4 p.m. Saturday in Atlanta. No. 1 Ohio State will face No. 2 Indiana in the Big Ten title game at 8 p.m. Saturday in Indianapolis.
No. 17 Virginia will play Duke for the ACC crown at 8 p.m. in Charlotte, N.C.
The College Football Playoff selection show will air at noon Sunday on ESPN. First round games for the 12-team tournament will be held Dec. 19 and 20. The quarterfinals will be Dec. 31 and 1. The College Football Playoff semifinals will be Jan. 8 and 9, with the title game set for Jan. 19.
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