By RALPH D. RUSSO AP College Football Writer
Georgia was the new No. 1 in the College Football Playoff rankings on Tuesday night, followed by Ohio State, Michigan and TCU.
The defending national champions’ rise from No. 3 was no surprise after the Bulldogs (9-0) put together a dominant victory against previously top-ranked Tennessee on Saturday.
Clemson (8-1), which was No. 4 in the selection committee’s first rankings last week, also lost, clearing way for changes in the top four.
Ohio State (9-0) stayed at two. The Buckeyes’ Big Ten rival, Michigan moved up from five to three. TCU (9-0) jumped three spots to No. 4 headed into its big Saturday showdown at No. 18 Texas, putting the nation’s four unbeaten teams at the top of the rankings.
“They’ve got six wins over teams who are .500 or better,” CFP chair Boo Corrigan, the athletic director at North Carolina State, said of the Horned Frogs during the ESPN broadcast. “As you know, we value wins.”
Tennessee (8-1) fell to No. 5 and was followed by Oregon (8-1) from the Pac-12 and LSU (7-2), which jumped three spots to seventh after the Tigers knocked off Alabama (7-2). As the top-ranked one-loss team, Tennessee’s CFP hopes remain very much alive.
“Tennessee is a really good team, with big wins, and again, we’re still early in this process,” Corrigan said.
Pac-12 contenders Oregon, USC (8-1) and UCLA (8-1) all have one loss, but the committee has the Ducks slotted highest. USC is at No. 8, while UCLA remained at No. 12.
“They’ve won eight consecutive games,” Corrigan said of Oregon. “Again, we’re looking at the overall body of work. … And they’ve been very impressive.”
Clemson fell to 10th and Alabama dropped from sixth to ninth after its second loss of the season.
This is the first time since the College Football Playoff rankings began in 2014 that neither Clemson nor Alabama has been ranked in the top six.
There has never been a College Football Playoff without the Tigers and the Crimson Tide, which have combined to win five of the eight CFP championships.
ANALYSIS
Are Alabama and Clemson done?
No, both still have a path to the playoff, but a lot is going to have to break right – especially for Alabama.
The first thing working against the Tide is there has never been a two-loss team in the College Football Playoff. But the SEC champion has never been left out of the CFP.
If Alabama could win the SEC, beating Georgia in the process, good luck keeping the Tide out. But the road to the SEC championship game for the Tide is blocked by LSU, which would have to lose both of its remaining conferences games at Arkansas and Texas A&M to clear the way for Alabama.
That’s assuming Alabama wins out. The Tide plays at Mississippi on Saturday and then Austin Peay before the Iron Bowl against Auburn.
Before writing Alabama off, take note: LSU is only a three-point favorite at Arkansas this weekend and might be a single-digit favorite against a struggling but talented Texas A&M team.
As for Clemson, this is a long way from over. A 12-1 Power Five conference champion will always have a shot and the Tigers could still end up there.
The Tigers’ bigger issue could be winning a resume contest against one-loss champions from the Big 12, where TCU is still unbeaten, or Pac-12, which currently has four teams in the committee’s top 13 – Oregon, No. 8 USC, No. 12 UCLA and No. 13 Utah.
Plus, there is the question of whether an 11-1 team that doesn’t win its division, such as Tennessee or the loser of Ohio State-Michigan, would get the nod over Clemson at 12-1 with an ACC title.
On top of all that, the Tigers have to win out against an improving Louisville team, rival South Carolina and likely No. 15 North Carolina and star quarterback Drake Maye in the ACC championship game.
Related Articles
USC WRs Jordan Addison, Mario Williams back at practice
Pac-12 power ratings: No changes at the top as a premature report emerges on SDSU
Swanson: Fairytale ending still possible for USC, UCLA
Swanson: USC, UCLA are longshots for College Football Playoff, but …
USC opens at No. 9 in first College Football Playoff rankings
After a run of six straight CFP appearances by Clemson was snapped last year, the Tigers are now staring at consecutive seasons being left out.
GAME OF THE WEEK
TCU’s ascent into the top four is validation for its undefeated season. Last week, the committee had the undefeated Horned Frogs at No. 7, behind one-loss Alabama, in large part because they needed multiple fourth-quarter comebacks to remain undefeated. TCU trailed Texas Tech headed into the fourth quarter last weekend and needed another comeback to win, but the Horned Frogs benefitted in these rankings from losses by Tennessee, Alabama and Clemson.
“This is early in the process, I have a lot of faith in the committee,” TCU coach Sonny Dykes said on the ESPN broadcast. “At the end of the day, we’ve played a good schedule, and we have a really tough schedule ahead of us. …. But I appreciate the fact that they value wins.”
TCU will meet Texas on Saturday night.
“Our guys have completely jumped in and they believe in what they’re doing,” Dykes said. “It’s fun to see guys invest in each other and value each other. … I love this group and they are a blast to coach.”
More to come on this story.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF RANKINGS (Nov. 8)
1. Georgia (9-0)
2. Ohio State (9-0)
3. Michigan (9-0)
4. TCU (9-0)
5. Tennessee (8-1)
6. Oregon (8-1)
7. LSU (7-2)
8. USC (8-1)
9. Alabama (7-2)
10. Clemson (8-1)
11. Mississippi (8-1)
12. UCLA (8-1)
13. Utah (7-2)
14. Penn State (7-2)
15. North Carolina (8-1)
16. North Carolina State (7-2)
17. Tulane (8-1)
18. Texas (6-3)
19. Kansas State (6-3)
20. Notre Dame (6-3)
21. Illinois (7-2)
22. UCF (7-2)
23. Florida State (6-3)
24. Kentucky (6-3)
25. Washington (7-2)