College Football Rankings: CFP Standings shake up, Alabama and Florida State dislodged
The College Football Playoff Rankings officially released its third week list of the best of college football Tuesday night. A major shake-up on the top four following the games on Saturday.
Despite playing against a FCS team, Mississippi State remains to be the No. 1 in the College Football Rankings. Mississippi State would stay in that position if they would win on Saturday.
Now, it is possible for a one-loss team to outrank an undefeated Florida State. Yes, Oregon dislodged Florida for the second spot in the newly published CFP rankings. Oregon is at No. 2 while Florida State dropped to No. 3.
Surprisingly, TCU grabbed the No. 4 spot against Alabama. TCU was No. 6 last week but it jumped two spots after beating Kansas State. However, the CFP selection committee was not impressed by how the Crimson Tide defeated LSU.
Committee chairman Jeff Long said that there’s a long discussion on the who is No. 2 and who is No. 4.
“They are so close, (Alabama and TCU) are almost indistinguishable,” Long said. “When you look at the number of top 25 wins, they both have top 10 losses. … But TCU’s win at Kansas State, a very impressive win over a higher-ranked team, followed by Alabama’s close overtime win at LSU, this week all things considered, very slight edge to TCU.”
Arizona State rose to the rankings at No. 6, while Baylor Bears ranked No. 7. Meanwhile, the victory of Ohio State over Michigan State was important as the Buckeyes jumped into No. 8.
At No. 9, Auburn is the first two-loss team to be in the top 10. Another SEC team, Ole Miss, at No. 10.
To recap the Top 10 College Football Playoff Rankings, there are four SEC teams (two are in the Top 5). Also, there are two Pac 12 teams, two Big 12 teams, one Big 10, and one ACC.
Playoff rankings
1. Mississippi State 9-0
2. Oregon 9-1
3. Florida State 9-0
4. TCU 8-1
5. Alabama 8-1
6. Arizona State 8-1
7. Baylor 8-1
8. Ohio State 8-1
9. Auburn 7-2
10. Ole Miss 8-2
11. UCLA 7-2
12. Michigan State 7-2
13. Kansas State 7-2
14. Arizona 7-2
15. Georgia 7-2
16. Nebraska 8-1
17. LSU 7-3
18. Notre Dame 7-2
19. Clemson 7-2
20. Wisconsin 7-2
21. Duke 8-2
22. Georgia Tech 8-2
23. Utah 6-3
24. Texas A&M 7-3
25. Minnesota 7-2
The Alabama vs Mississippi State would be interesting on Saturday. If Alabama losses, they are out of the conversation for the college football playoff. An Alabama victory would put them back on the top Four, and Mississippi State would be dropped from No. 1. It remains to be seen if a Mississippi State defeat would allow them to remain on top Four.
