Miami fell six spots to No. 12 in the College Football Playoff rankings Tuesday night, behind No. 11 Alabama for the last at-large bid heading into championship weekend. Ohio State dropped to No. 6 after being upset by Michigan.
Oregon remained No. 1 in the selection committee’s penultimate Top 25, followed by No. 2 Texas, No. 3 Penn State, No. 4 Notre Dame and No. 5 Georgia after Ohio State cleared out a spot in top five.
The Buckeyes fell four spots, but stayed ahead of No. 7 Tennessee, which is significant because it could determine which team hosts a first-round playoff game between the Buckeyes (10-2) and Volunteers (10-2).
No. 8 SMU, No. 9 Indiana and No. 10 Boise State both moved up a spot. The Hoosiers (11-1) seem secure. The Mustangs (11-1) still have to play in the ACC championship game on Saturday against No. 17 Clemson (9-3). The winner should secure a spot as one of the five highest-ranked conference champions. Clemson is likely out with a loss.
SMU’s at-large hopes seem less clear, though ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips touted his Mustangs to The Athletic earlier this week, saying the first-year conference member should be in no matter how things go in Charlotte against Clemson.
“Playing in a conference championship game, there cannot be a negative residual to that if you are in the field going into that weekend,” Phillips said Monday. “If you are in the top 12, there should be no downside.”
The projected top four seeds from the latest rankings are now: Oregon, Texas, SMU and Boise State.
Oregon (12-0) and Penn State (11-1) will meet Saturday in the Big Ten championship with a first-round bye and maybe the No. 1 overall seed on the line. Texas (11-1) and Georgia (10-2) face off in the SEC championship game, a rematch of the Bulldogs’ regular-season victory in Austin, with the winner getting a bye.
Miami’s loss at Syracuse relinquished that spot as the highest-ranked ACC member after the Hurricanes (10-2) were No. 6 last week. It’s the one championship game that appears to be impacting the pool of teams that could earn an at-large spot.
Miami coach Mario Cristobal was among the many publicly politicking for their teams over the past few days.
“I think that [SEC] bias is coming to an end.”
Mario Cristobal talks about how Miami’s résumé stacks to others in the CFP rankings 👀 pic.twitter.com/oAdp0LfbNw
— ACC Network (@accnetwork) December 3, 2024
Alabama now holds the last of seven at-large spots, ahead of Miami and SEC rivals No. 13 Mississippi and No. 14 South Carolina.
Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne also pushed the school’s Playoff case.
Here’s a good look at the numbers/rankings for @AlabamaFTBL. Recognize there’s lots of chatter out there about 2 vs. 3 loss teams, however that is just one factor. When you look at the @CFBPlayoff Principles for its Selection Committee, the first bullet point on the list of… pic.twitter.com/EGrp7pVbaA
— Greg Byrne (@Greg_Byrne) December 3, 2024
No. 15 Arizona State and No. 16 Iowa State play in the Big 12 championship game, with the winner assured of a spot reserved for the five highest-ranked conference champions and maybe a first-round bye depending on the result of the Mountain West title game between Boise State and No. 20 UNLV, along with whether Clemson wins the ACC.
Required reading
- Ranking 134 college football teams after Week 14: Penn State-Notre Dame and other key tossups
- Predicting the College Football Playoff rankings: It’s Alabama vs. SMU, Miami and the ACC
- The CFP rankings glossary: Game control, body clocks and 12 selection committee translations
(Photo: Gregory Fisher / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
