Grapevine, TX (SportsNetwork.com) – A new No. 1 in the College Football
Playoff rankings debuted on Tuesday, and a familiar program is perched at the
top.
Alabama, which captured three of the final five BCS national championships, is
again in prime position for another title shot after defeating then-undefeated
Mississippi State, 25-20, on Saturday.
The victory was enough for the Crimson Tide (9-1) to jump all the way from No.
5 to ending Mississippi State’s reign at the top of the rankings two weeks
prior to conference championship weekend.
The Bulldogs (9-1) can still seemingly control their fate, since they only
dropped three spots to No. 4 behind Oregon (9-1), which was idle last weekend,
and Florida State.
The Seminoles (10-0), the reigning national champs and the only remaining
undefeated program among the power conferences, survived yet another close
test last weekend against rival Miami-Florida to remain at No. 3
TCU’s close call against a three-win Kansas team dropped the Horned Frogs
(9-1) down to a spot to No. 5 this week, and rounding out the top-10 are Ohio
State, Baylor, Ole Miss, UCLA and Georgia.
The Buckeyes (9-1) jumped over Baylor (8-1) with a close victory at Minnesota,
while Georgia moved up five spots following its convincing win over Auburn.
Arizona State (8-2) saw its title hopes fade as a loss to Oregon State dropped
the Sun Devils from sixth to 13th.
Michigan State, Kansas State, Arizona State, Auburn, Arizona, Wisconsin, Utah,
Georgia Tech, USC, Missouri, Oklahoma, Clemson, Nebraska, Louisville and
Minnesota complete the top 25.
There will be three more votes by the 12-member selection committee
culminating on Dec. 7, when the four teams that will play in the national
semifinals on Jan. 1 will be announced.
The winners of the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day will move on to
the national championship game on Jan. 12 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The playoff replaces the oft-criticized BCS, which was in place from 1998
until last season.
