CFP ranking remains stable ahead of potentially momentous weekend
No. 1 Ohio State (9-0), No. 2 Georgia (9-0), No. 3 Michigan (9-0), No. 4 Florida State (9-0 ) and No. 5 Washington (9-0). ) is once again at the top of the list, although Georgia then defeated the No. 12 Missouri Saturday and Washington had won at then No. 1. 20 Southern California. Ohio State held on after winning against surging Rutgers.
Among the formerly beaten countries, Oregon (8-1) remained at No. 6, Texas (8-1) at No. 7 and Alabama (8-1) at No. 8. a 35-6 victory at Utah with a 63-19 home victory over California. Texas stayed ahead of a resurgent Alabama on the logic that the Longhorns won impressively, 34-24, in Tuscaloosa on September 9. The Crimson Tide showed they were still a threat with a 42-28 victory over then-No. 14 LSU.
The other three teams with less than two losses have actually moved. Mississippi (8-1) fell from No. 10 to No. 9, Penn State (8-1) fell from No. 11 to No. 10 and Louisville (8-1) fell from No. 13 to No. °11. The Cardinals still have Virginia and Miami on their ACC schedule in hopes of facing off against Florida State in the conference title game.
As for the clashes to sort the numbers, they begin on Saturday. No. 3 Michigan will visit No. 10 Penn State on its toughest assignment yet, and No. 9 Mississippi will visit No. 2 Georgia on its toughest assignment yet. difficult to date. (His only loss came at Alabama.)
No. 5 Washington will host No. 18 Utah (7-2). No. 1 Ohio State will host struggling Michigan State (3-6), and No. 4 Florida State will face longtime friend Miami (6-3).
Committee chairman Boo Corrigan, North Carolina State’s athletic director, reiterated to ESPN during the rankings broadcast that the committee was only considering Michigan’s on-field results as the NCAA investigated the accusations signal theft. Corrigan said the situation was an NCAA problem and not a PSC problem. Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel, a committee member, botched his calculations last weekend amid a scandal that has spent the past three weeks dominating discussion around the nation’s quirkiest sport.
Oregon State (7-2), with its 26-19 victory at Colorado, moved from No. 16 to No. 12, leading a block of seven teams that has been beaten twice. No. 13 Tennessee (7-2 and better than No. 17) followed, two weeks before its fight against Georgia in Knoxville.
Four teams that lost last weekend fell slightly or more. Missouri’s strong performance against Georgia in a 30-21 loss dropped it from No. 12 to No. 14. Oklahoma’s second straight road loss (this one to perennial rival Oklahoma State) dropped it from No. 9 to No. 17. the Alabama loss left it 6-3 and No. 19 (to No. 14). Notre Dame’s 31-23 loss at Clemson left it 7-3 and No. 20 (down from No. 15). Oklahoma State (7-2) and Kansas (7-2) made big jumps, with the Cowboys moving from No. 22 to No. 15 while eyeing a chance to face Texas for the Big 12 championship. The Jayhawks, the most refreshing story in college football over the past two seasons, went from No. 21 to No. 16 after winning at Iowa State.
The lower regions of the standings have brought recognition to a team that has risen to the edges of the national consciousness. Beyond a two-week stint at the bottom of the ladder in 2017, Arizona (6-3) had not appeared in the CFP rankings since the first year of the current format, when the Wildcats finished 10th and played in the Fiesta Bowl. Recent wins over Washington State, Oregon State and UCLA have propelled Arizona to No. 21 in its third year under Jedd Fisch, the 47-year-old former seven-year assistant. NFL franchises and five universities.
The other teams to join the rankings were scoring-struggling Iowa (7-2), which ranked 22nd, and North Carolina (7-2), which is ranked 24th despite recent losses to Virginia. and Georgia Tech.
UCLA (from No. 19), Southern California (from No. 20) and Air Force (from No. 25) disappeared from the list. Air Force’s demise left No. 23 Tulane (8-1) as the only team in the Group of Five, the bottom tier of Division I, that gets a bid to the New Year’s Six bowls each year.
Tulane got that bid last season and beat USC, 46-45, in the Cotton Bowl.
