The third edition of this season’s College Football .L playoff rankings was released on Tuesday night, and the top six teams in the top 25 have remained the same since last week. Alabama fills the top four by becoming the top ranked team in the nation along with Notre Dame, Clemson and Ohio State. Questions such as this week arise as to whether the bookies are eligible for the Big Ten Championship game, or whether they should be considered legitimately for a CFP given the short schedule.
Texas A&M and Florida, two more teams from the SEC are in the “last two out” position. The Gators will play LSU this Saturday ahead of their tilt with the Crimson Tide in next Saturday’s SEC Championship Game. The Aegis are in a difficult position, hoping to start the field in a four-team field.
Iowa State was a surprise in this week’s rankings, ranking two places ahead of Cincinnati and Georgia. Jumped in rank. The Bearcats haven’t played in the last two weeks, while the Bulldogs weren’t in action last week. At -2-6, Cyclone is the top-ranked two-loss team, not to mention Cincinnati and Coastal Carolina, ahead of five Power Five programs with one or fewer losses.
“The committee has been monitoring Iowa State for the past few weeks. [We were impressed with] Texas and then the 20th team win [Iowa State] This took him to West Virginia last week. CFP Selection Committee Chairman Gary Berta said that in the cyclone chase in the rankings, CFP Selection Committee Chairman Gary Berta said that … they are in the first place at the top. It is the largest in the first place. The committee had real respect for what Iowa State has done and no penalties for Cincinnati.
Let’s take a look at the top 25 of the entire CFP rankings. Continue reading for CBS Sports Bowls expert Jerry Palm’s analysis.
College Football .L. Playoff Rankings, 8 December
- Alabama (9-0)
- Notre Dame (10-0)
- Clemson (9-1)
- Ohio State (5-0)
- Texas A&M (7-1)
- Florida (8-1)
- Iowa State (9-2)
- Cincinnati (8-0)
- Georgia (6-2)
- Miami (8-1)
- Oklahoma (7-2)
- Indiana (6-1)
- Coastal Carolina (10-0)
- Northwest (5-1)
- USC (4-0)
- Iowa (5-2)
- North Carolina (7-3)
- BYU (9-1)
- Louisiana (9-1)
- Texas (6-3)
- Colorado (4-0)
- Oklahoma State (6-3)
- NC State (8-3)
- Tulsa (6-1)
- Missouri (5-3)
Bowls analyzed by expert Jerry Palm
At the top of the rankings this week is more about what could happen to Ohio State than what happened this week. The highest-rated team to advance is Iowa State, which finished ninth last week behind Cincinnati and Georgia. Most org regia fans are right down the aisle at the Bulldogs site. They are still high.
The Bearcats are suffering because some are not playing and are unable to add to their resume. The last time Cincinnati took to the field was on November 21 when it won at UCF, 36-33. The Cincinnati game was canceled this week at Tulsa, so the Barkets will host the Golden Hurricane in the AAC Championship Game on December 19th.
That game will be interesting in the new No. 13 Coastal Carolina. The Chanticklers advanced five places after a thrilling 22-17 win over No. 18 BYU. If the Chants can finish the regular season, which means winning Troy on Saturday and beating No. 19 Louisiana in the Sun Belt Championship Game, they could be in a position to qualify for six New Year’s games. Cincinnati will have to face defeat against Tulsa to make it happen.
The Big Ten now has a real feud. On Tuesday morning, Michigan had to cancel a game with Ohio State scheduled for Saturday, thus disqualifying the bookies from the Big Ten championship game under current rules. It opens the door to entry into Indiana, but before the CFP rankings were published, Hoosiers announced that they were suspending football activities due to the Covid-19 outbreak in the program.
Four of the five Big Ten teams that have had a COVID-19 outbreak have been forced to cancel two games. Only the state of Ohio was able to repeal it. If Indiana are to miss two weeks – and this Saturday’s game has not yet been canceled – the Huskies will not even be able to play for the championship. With Maryland also disqualified, this week’s Michigan State-Penn State game will be ahead in the winning line. Any doubt the Big Ten will do whatever it takes to make sure the Ohio State Conference plays in the title game should be erased.
There is another ranking to note. U.S.C. Is at No. 15, five places since last week. CFPs seem to be out of reach of the Trojans, but if they perform more like they did on Sunday night, it is possible to meet the bottom of the top 10.
