The latest College Football Playoff rankings delivered more movement near the top on Tuesday, but the biggest message of the night came from Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark, who said the league is “getting the respect it deserves” as the postseason picture sharpens.
Ohio State, Indiana and Texas A&M held firm in the top three, while Alabama slid six spots to No. 10 following its 23-21 home loss to Oklahoma. The Sooners climbed three spots to No. 8 after the upset. Georgia moved to No. 4, followed by Texas Tech at No. 5, Ole Miss at No. 6 and Oregon at No. 7.
Notre Dame rose to No. 9, edging ahead of Alabama despite owning just one top-25 win compared to the Crimson Tide’s four. Miami’s position at No. 13 remains a point of contention after the Hurricanes beat Notre Dame head-to-head to open the season.
CFP Committee chair Hunter Yurachek said the teams “haven’t been in similar comparative pools,” but added that head-to-head “will be a significant data point” if that changes.
The rankings strengthened the Big 12’s profile, with Texas Tech, No. 11 BYU and No. 12 Utah. All three positioned to make a conference championship run with Tech and BYU both needing win out to secure a trip to Dallas. Yormark praised the league Tuesday, noting, “I said at Big 12 Media Days in July that we would earn it on the field, and we continue to do that.”
Texas saw its at-large hopes fade after dropping seven spots to No. 17 following a 35-10 loss to Georgia. Michigan is No. 18, Virginia at No. 19 and Tennessee at No. 20.
The CFP will again take a 12-team field, with the top four seeds earning first-round byes. If the postseason started today, the opening matchups would be Tulane-Texas Tech, Miami-Ole Miss, Alabama-Oregon and Notre Dame-Oklahoma.
The final rankings will be released Dec. 7. First-round games will be played Dec. 19-20 on campus sites, with quarterfinals on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. The CFP National Championship is Jan. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium.
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