After a weekend of college football largely devoid of surprises, the latest College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings revealed Tuesday looked mostly the same as last week’s.
In fact, the top five teams were exactly the same, headlined by undefeated Big Ten frontrunner Oregon leading the pack at No. 1.
The Big Ten Conference once again boasts four schools in the top five, including Ohio State - whose only loss this season came at the hands of Oregon - at No. 2, joined by Penn State at No. 4 and unbeaten upstart Indiana at No. 5.
Southeastern Conference (SEC) newcomers Texas clock in at No. 3 again, with more of the Longhorns’ conference rivals continuing to dominate the back half of the top 10.
SEC powerhouses Alabama and Ole Miss hold the No. 7 and No. 9 spots respectively, with 2021 and 2022 national champion Georgia rising to No. 10 after a much-needed victory last week against rival Tennessee, now ranked No. 11.
With the Big Ten and SEC currently gobbling up eight of the 12 berths in the CFP bracket, the rest of college football is left scrapping over the remaining four slots.
Independent blue blood Notre Dame rose to the No. 6 spot following a win against Virginia.
The remaining three entries in the CFP bracket presently belong to the eventual Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) champion, the Big 12 Conference winner and the highest ranked conference champion from the so-called “group of five” - a collection of five smaller conferences.
Miami is currently the highest ranked ACC team at No. 8. No. 14 BYU still leads the Big 12 despite an upset loss to Kansas last week, and No. 12 Boise State of the Mountain West Conference leads the group of five schools as of now.
The deference being shown to the Big Ten and SEC conferences isn’t sitting well with some outsiders, who feel they are being slighted by the CFP selection committee.
Rhett Lashlee, who coaches No. 13 SMU of the ACC, recently questioned the committee’s reasoning.
“When other leagues beat each other up internally, they’re considered a deep, solid league, but when we beat up internally, we’re considered a weak league,” Lashlee said of the perception of the ACC.
“I just want our league to get the same respect that everyone else gets.”
The road ahead…
There is still much to be decided in the final weeks of the regular season, however, and when all the dust settles, regardless of how many Big Ten and SEC schools make the bracket, only the conference winners will receive a bye straight through to the quarterfinals of the 12-team playoff.
In the CFP format, the top four highest ranked conference champions receive the top four seeds in the bracket and a bye in the first round.
The next few weeks will provide all the top teams with plenty of opportunities to stumble and will also provide some teams on the outside looking in with a path into the CFP.
Ohio State will host Indiana Saturday in Columbus in one of the biggest games of the season, with the winner getting the inside track to a matchup with Oregon in the Big Ten championship game in Indianapolis.
Texas, who doesn’t have a signature win yet this season, still has a road test looming against No. 15 Texas A&M on November 30 before potentially facing another tough opponent in the SEC championship game in Atlanta.
Notre Dame has more opportunities to rise or fall with a date against unbeaten No. 19 Army on deck this Saturday, followed by their season finale against rival Southern Cal on November 30.
Miami may be the highest ranked ACC team as of today, but with two conference games left on their schedule, the Hurricanes currently trail both SMU and No. 17 Clemson in the ACC standings. Some combination of those three teams will square off for what is likely to be the conference’s only CFP berth in the ACC title game in Charlotte.
No. 16 Colorado, led by flamboyant head coach Deion Sanders, and No. 21 Arizona State each still have a clear path to the Big 12 championship in Arlington, Texas, if they can keep on winning. Arizona State hosts BYU in a pivotal showdown on Saturday, while Colorado is on the road against a dangerous Kansas team.
The Big Ten, SEC, ACC and Big 12 conference championship games will all be played on December 7.