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The top five teams may not have changed in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, but there were some newcomers entering the fold.
The Ohio State Buckeyes remain atop the list, followed by Indiana, Texas A&M, Alabama and Georgia to round out the top five.
Then, Texas Tech, Ole Miss, Oregon, Notre Dame, Texas, Oklahoma and BYU make up the top 12 in the rankings.
Instead of Memphis being the highest-ranked Group of Five champion, the USF Bulls, ranked No. 24, are now in the bracket. They would replace BYU at the moment because five conference champions are guaranteed a spot in the 12-team playoff.
Miami, which is projected to win the ACC, would also replace Oklahoma if the season ended today.
As the bracket stands, Ohio State, Indiana, Texas A&M and Alabama would each receive a first-round bye as the top four teams.
OHIO STATE TOPS FIRST COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF RANKINGS WITH INDIANA BEHIND AT NO. 2
After this week’s thrilling games, there was one big question about the top squads in the rankings: How was the selection committee going to view the Hoosiers’ comeback victory over Penn State on the road?
Fernando Mendoza, with 36 seconds left at Beaver Stadium, found Omar Cooper Jr. for a 7-yard touchdown pass, where the latter made a miraculous effort to not only secure the football but also get his foot in bounds for the play to stand. Indiana went up 27-24 and kept its undefeated season alive.
The Nittany Lions have now lost six straight games and have seen their season go downhill, leading to the firing of James Franklin as head coach.
However, the selection committee decided to keep its second rankings intact at the top.
“It was one of our longer discussions in our meeting,” CFP committee chair Mack Rhoads, who serves as athletic director at Baylor, told ESPN on Tuesday night about the Hoosiers remaining at No. 2. “Indiana, we gave them the edge defensively, and certainly, offensively, as well. You think about Indiana’s body of work. … Indiana found a way to find a way.”
Meanwhile, the Aggies blew out another ranked opponent, defeating Missouri, which is no longer in the top 25, on the road.
Looking at more of the top 12, the Red Raiders moved up two spots from No. 8 to No. 6 after a dominant 29-7 win over BYU over the weekend. Unfortunately for the Cougars, their first loss meant dropping five spots from the initial ranking to No. 12.
Rhoads said the committee saw a “convincing win” by Texas Tech over BYU.
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In the middle of the pack, Utah was ranked No. 13 by the committee, with Vanderbilt, Miami, Georgia Tech, USC, Michigan, Virginia and Louisville following.
To round out the top 25, the committee chose Iowa, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, USF and Cincinnati in that order. USF and Cincinnati were both first-timers in the rankings. As mentioned, Missouri fell out of the top 25, and so did Washington after losing this past week.
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