Ohio State surpassed LSU to take over the No. 1 spot in the College Football Playoff selection committee’s latest rankings Tuesday night, while Georgia remained No. 4.
The committee moved Ohio State to the top spot after its win over Penn State, dropping last week’s No. 1 team, LSU, to No. 2. Clemson remained No. 3 and Alabama No. 5.
The rest of the top 10: No. 6 Utah (up one spot from last week), No. 7 Oklahoma (up two spots), No. 8 Minnesota (up two), No. 9 Baylor (up five) and No. 10 Penn State (down two).
Oregon, previously No. 6, tumbled to No. 14 after losing to Arizona State.
Rob Mullens, chair of the selection committee, attributed Ohio State’s move to the top spot to the “impressive” win over Penn State and to the Buckeyes “performing at a high level” all season on both sides of the ball.
“That’s a key piece,” he said of Ohio State’s defense. “I mean, they’re a balanced team, strong on offense and defense. Obviously, LSU has a very strong offense. But to date their defense isn’t quite as strong as Ohio State’s.”
Mullens, who is the athletic director at Oregon, attributed Georgia’s hold on the No. 4 spot to the Bulldogs’ “three wins over top-16 teams (No. 11 Florida, No. 15 Auburn and No. 16 Notre Dame), one of them on the road at Auburn, and the strength of their defense consistently every week.”
Georgia has been the committee’s No. 4 team -- and highest-ranked one-loss team -- for three weeks.
Ohio State was the No. 1 team in the committee’s first rankings of the season Nov. 5, but LSU took over the top spot after winning at Alabama and held the No. 1 position the past two weeks. LSU slipped to No. 2 this week despite a 56-20 win over Arkansas on Saturday.
The 13-member selection committee will re-rank the teams twice more: Dec. 3 and Dec. 8. The top four teams in the Dec. 8 rankings will make the playoff.
One of the playoff semifinals this season will be played at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. The other semifinal will be in the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz. The national championship game will be played in New Orleans.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF RANKINGS
1. Ohio State (11-0)
2. LSU (11-0)
3. Clemson (11-0)
4. Georgia (10-1)
5. Alabama (10-1)
6. Utah (10-1)
7. Oklahoma (10-1)
8. Minnesota (10-1)
9. Baylor (10-1)
10. Penn State (9-2)
11. Florida (9-2)
12. Wisconsin (9-2)
13. Michigan (9-2)
14. Oregon (9-2)
15. Auburn (8-3)
16. Notre Dame (9-2)
17. Iowa (8-3)
18. Memphis (10-1)
19. Cincinnati (10-1)
20. Boise State (10-1)
21. Oklahoma State (8-3)
22. USC (8-4)
23. Iowa State (7-4)
24. Virginia Tech (8-3)
25. Appalachian State (10-1)
About the Author
