The second College Football Playoff rankings dropped on Tuesday night with Oregon retaining its status as the No. 1 team in the country ahead of No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Texas.
College Football Playoff: The new 12-team format, rankings and seeding, explained
Yet the playoff picture suddenly feels a lot less clear than it did a week ago following Week 11 losses from Miami (Fla.) and Georgia.
Let’s walk through some of the biggest winners and losers from the second rankings.
A reminder: the top four power conference winners and the highest-ranked Group of 5 teams are all guaranteed a spot. The final seven seeds are essentially decided by the committee.
Winner: Colorado
A week after the committee seemingly told the Big 12 it was only getting one team in the playoff, here comes the Buffaloes to challenge the narrative. Up three spots to No. 17 in this week’s rankings, Colorado controls its own destiny with remaining games against Utah, Kansas and Oklahoma State. None of those are cakewalks, but the Buffs will be favored in each matchup.
If both Colorado and BYU are undefeated heading into the Big 12 championship game, would the committee favor a one-loss conference runner-up over a two-loss SEC or Big Ten team?
Let’s hope we find get to out.
Loser: Indiana
If you thought the disrespect for Indiana was bad last week when the committee ranked the Hoosiers No. 9, what can you say about what the committee did this week to the 10-0 Hoosiers? The committee moved IU up to No. 5 in the rankings, but that means they’d be facing No. 10 Alabama in the first round of the playoff.
Will that end up happening? Probably not, but that’s a rough draw even in theory. Especially when you see a pair of one-loss teams in Penn State and Ohio State are ranked ahead of Indiana.
No. 2 Ohio State would currently draw a home game against No. 12 Boise State. Thankfully the Buckeyes and Hoosiers will meet on November 23 to settle this once and for all.
Winner: Mizzou
Head coach Eli Drinkwitz was mocked a bit for talking about the Tigers keeping their playoff chances alive, but uh, he wasn’t exactly wrong. Clocking in at No. 23, Mizzou technically has a chance to get into the field of 12.
That in itself is worth celebrating after nearly blowing its season at home against a dilapidated Oklahoma team. Anyone who moves up in the rankings after a game like that deserves a pat on the back.
Loser: Georgia
If a two-loss SEC team is getting left out, it sure seems like No. 12 Georgia is the best candidate.
Despite the fact the Bulldogs still have to play Tennessee and Georgia Tech, even winning out might not be enough to keep them in the playoff considering they’re on the outside now. The Group of Five requirement is keeping No. 13 Boise State in the playoff and the Bulldogs the first team out.
The Bulldogs need three dominant wins just to have chance at pleading its case to the committee at the end of the season.
Winner: Ole Miss
A week ago the Rebels were just hanging on the playoff picture. Now Lane Kiffin’s program is up to No. 11 and has arguably the best path through the bracket.
As it stands, Ole Miss would travel to No. 6 Penn State in the first round, where the toughest aspect may be the home field advantage. The Rebels have the No. 2 offense in the country while Penn State ranks No. 22. The winner of that game would face No. 3 BYU — and a Cougars offense that ranks No. 56 in the FBS — on neural ground.
If you’re Ole Miss, you take your chances with an offense like the Rebels’ and a matchup like those.
