Alabama stands firm at No. 1 in latest CFP rankings

After a shutout road victory televised to a national audience in primetime , the University of Alabama football program remained No. 1 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, the committee released Tuesday night during its one-hour weekly broadcast on ESPN.

UA earned a 10-0 win at LSU last Saturday night to remain unbeaten on the season, and that was enough to keep the Crimson Tide in the top spot. The initial rankings for 2016 were released last week with Alabama rated No. 1.

The top four saw a bit of a shakeup, headlined by Texas A&M dropping out after a shocking road loss to Mississippi State. Clemson (9-0) remained No. 2 followed by Michigan (9-0) at No. 3 and Washington as the newcomer in at No. 4.

Clemson and Michigan are also unbeaten.

Alabama (9-0, 6-0) plays host to Mississippi State (4-5, 2-3) on Saturday at 11 a..m. UA coach Nick Saban said the Bulldogs are playing their best football of the season.

"They have played better and better each and every week," Saban said. "They're probably playing their best football of the season right now. Pretty obvious with their win over Texas A&M how good they are playing right now.

"Their quarterback has done a really good job for them all year long. He's kind of a center of what they do in terms of how much he runs the ball and his effectiveness as a runner, as well as being a very effective passer."

The rest of the top 10 included No. 10 Penn State, No. 9 Auburn, No. 8 Texas A&M, No. 7 Wisconsin, No. 6 Louisville and No. 5 Ohio State.

Reach Aaron Suttles at aaron@tidesports.com or at 205-722-0229.