Alabama’s playoff hopes are still alive after it rallied back to beat Auburn 24-22 in four overtimes over the weekend. However, the Crimson Tide’s latest escape saw it jumped in the latest release of the College Football Playoff rankings Tuesday night.
Alabama remained at No. 3 in the rankings while Michigan moved up three spots to No. 2 following its win over previously No. 2-ranked Ohio State. Georgia remained at the top spot while Cincinnati rounded out the current playoff field at No. 4.
No. 5 Oklahoma State and No. 6 Notre Dame are the first two teams on the outside of the playoff picture, while Ohio State dropped five spots to No. 7.
The final playoff rankings will be released on Sunday at 11 a.m. CT following Saturday’s conference championship games. A lot can change until then.
The weekend’s marquee matchup will be the SEC Championship Game as No. 1 Georgia and No. 3 Alabama will meet inside Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday at 3 p.m. CT. The Bulldogs have seemingly already punched their ticket to the playoff, while the Tide likely needs a win to advance. Alabama could still theoretically make the playoff with a loss but would need multiple contenders to lose as well. No team has yet to advance to the College Football Playoff with two losses since it was established in 2014.
No. 5 Oklahoma State and No. 10 Baylor will kick off the day in the Big 12 Championship Game at 11 a.m. inside AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Oklahoma State would have a strong argument to make the playoff with a win and a loss from anyone other than Georgia in the top four.
No. 4 Cincinnati will host No. 21 Houston in the AAC Championship Game at 3 p.m., while No. 2 Michigan and No. 13 Iowa face off in the Big Ten Championship Game inside Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium at 7 p.m. A loss by either Cincinnati or Michigan would almost certainly keep them out of the playoff.
College Football Playoff Rankings
1. Georgia (12-0)
2. Michigan (11-1)
3. Alabama (11-1)
4. Cincinnati (12-0)
5. Oklahoma State (11-1)
6. Notre Dame (11-1)
7. Ohio State (10-2)
8. Ole Miss (10-2)
9. Baylor (10-2)
10. Oregon (10-2)
11. Michigan State (10-2)
12. BYU (10-2)
13. Iowa (10-2)
14. Oklahoma (10-2
15. Pittsburgh (10-2
16. Wake Forest (10-2)
17. Utah (9-3)
18. N.C. State (9-3
19. San Diego State (11-1)
20. Clemson (9-3)
21. Houston (11-1)
22. Arkansas (8-4)
23. Kentucky (9-2)
24. Louisiana-Lafayette (11-1)
25. Texas A&M (8-4)
