Oregon, Ohio State, Texas, Penn State lead CFP’s latest rankings

Oregon remained No. 1 in the second rankings released by the College Football Playoff selection committee on Tuesday night.

The Ducks, who cruised past Maryland, 39-18, last week to improve to 10-0, were followed by No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Texas, No. 4 Penn State and No. 5 Indiana as the Big Ten captured four of the top five.

BYU, Tennessee, Notre Dame, Miami, Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia round out the committee’s top 12.

Miami’s first loss of the season, 28-23 at Georgia Tech, and Georgia’s second defeat, 28-10 at Ole Miss, shook up the committee’s rankings. The Hurricanes fell five spots to No. 9, while the Bulldogs dropped nine spots to No. 12.

Using the current rankings, Oregon (Big Ten), Texas (SEC), BYU (Big 12) and Miami (ACC) would be the four highest-rated conference champions and would receive first-round byes in the 12-team playoff.

Boise State is No. 13 in the committee’s rankings, but the Broncos would be included in the 12-team playoff as the fifth-highest-rated conference champion from the Mountain West.

The first-round matchups would look like this: No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Ohio State; No. 11 Mississippi at No. 6 Penn State, No. 10 Alabama at No. 7 Indiana; and No. 9 Notre Dame at No. 8 Tennessee.

“All I can say is there’s a lot of games left to play in the season with three weeks and a conference championship in four weeks from now,” said selection committee chair Warde Manuel, Michigan’s athletic director. “There’s a lot of ball to be played. Every team in America is going to realize what I’m saying when the best thing that people can do is continue to win and then let everything fall as it may in terms of the rankings.”

Although Georgia, which captured two of the past three CFP national championships, is ranked No. 12 in the committee’s rankings, the Bulldogs would be the first team left out of the 12-team playoff.

Yes, the Bulldogs have two losses, but they also have what is widely regarded as the toughest schedule in the country. It wouldn’t seem right, though, if they were ranked ahead of Ole Miss after last Saturday’s beatdown.

“Both Alabama and Ole Miss beat them head-to-head,” Manuel said. “As we went through the rankings and looked at everyone, they obviously fell to 12, but it’s based on who won in front of them, head-to-head and everything we look at in terms of body of work.”

SMU is No. 14, followed by Texas A&M, Kansas State, Colorado, Washington State, Louisville and Clemson.

South Carolina, LSU, Missouri, Army and Tulane round out the top 25.

The Gamecocks and Green Wave made their CFP rankings debuts this season, replacing Iowa State and Pittsburgh, who were Nos. 17 and 18 last week, respectively.

There were nine SEC teams included in the committee’s rankings, four each from the ACC and Big Ten and three from the Big 12.

Georgia, which also lost, 41-34, at Alabama on Sept. 28, plays what might be a CFP elimination game against Tennessee at Sanford Stadium on Saturday. Georgia is 14-3 after a loss under coach Kirby Smart, bouncing back after each of its previous eight defeats. The Bulldogs haven’t lost back-to-back games in the regular season since 2016, Smart’s first season coaching his alma mater.

Georgia has defeated Tennessee in seven of its past eight contests, including a 38-10 win on the road last season.

“Their offense hasn’t been consistent,” Manuel said. “The committee discussed that. They’ve struggled with some turnovers. Defense has been solid, although in the loss to Ole Miss, we felt that that plays a factor into with the offense struggling, their defense was on the field quite a bit. But they have just lacked some consistency on the offensive side.”

Asked about the CFP implications of the game on Monday, Smart said his team had to solely focus on beating the Volunteers.

“I don’t ever take those approaches,” Smart said. “I don’t think they’re the right way to go about things. You’re trying to win your conference all the time, and to do that you’ve got to win your games at home. You’ve got to play well on the road, which we have and haven’t. We’ve done both, but I like making it about who we play and how we play, and less about just outcomes.”

BYU survived a 22-21 scare at Utah last week. With Miami’s loss, the Cougars jumped the Hurricanes as the third-highest-rated conference champion. BYU hosts Kansas on Saturday, followed by a road game at Arizona State on Nov. 23 and a home game against Houston the next week. According to ESPN Analytics, BYU is the heavy favorite (92%) to earn a spot in the Big 12 title game and also win it (40%).

Army would be the next-highest-rated conference champion behind Boise State, one spot ahead of fellow AAC program Tulane. The Black Knights improved to 9-0 with last week’s 14-3 victory at North Texas. They’ll have their best chance to make a statement to the selection committee in their next game, against Notre Dame at Yankee Stadium in New York on Nov. 23.

The four first-round games will be played at the home campus of the higher-seeded teams on Dec. 20 and 21. The four quarterfinal games will be staged at the Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, Ariz.), the Peach Bowl (Atlanta), the Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1.

The two semifinal games will take place at the Orange Bowl (Miami) and the Cotton Bowl (Arlington, Texas) on Jan. 9 and 10.

The CFP national title game is scheduled for Jan. 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

BIG GAMES THIS WEEK

Utah at Colorado, Kansas at BYU: Last week, Utah and KU played like what a lot of people expected they would be this season: Big 12 contenders. Now they get a chance to play spoiler.

Tennessee at Georgia: The only matchup between top-12 teams this week. Would a Bulldogs win put them back into the bracket?

Clemson at Pittsburgh: The Tigers, ranked 20th, would conceivably get back into contention for something – a spot in the ACC title game? – with a win.

News services contributed to this story.