The penultimate College Football Playoff rankings serve as a table setter for Selection Sunday five days later with the majority of teams in at-large consideration not playing in conference championship games.
That means the fifth release of the season Tuesday, Dec. 2, was important in establishing a pecking order – both for seeds and for teams fighting to make the field.
The top of the rankings did not change with Ohio State and Indiana – the lone unbeatens in the Football Bowl Subdivision – leading as the Big Ten schools have since the first release. That will change in the final rankings on Sunday, Dec. 7, with the Buckeyes and Hoosiers set to meet in the conference title game.
Who would follow the top two was the first question for the committee to answer. Last week’s No. 3 Texas A&M lost to Texas, knocking the Aggies out of the SEC title game. How far would A&M fall? The committee slotted it at No. 7, meaning a likely first-round home game with no opportunity to earn a bye to the quarterfinals.
Georgia slides up one place to third with Texas Tech and Oregon making equal improvements to round out the top five. The Bulldogs will face No. 9 Alabama in the SEC title game. Avenging their lone loss should put them in the No. 2 spot in the final rankings. The Red Raiders could also move up further and secure a first-round bye if they defeat No. 11 Brigham Young in the Big 12 title game. The Ducks have completed their regular season.
In addition to where Texas A&M landed, the other question for the committee was where to place Mississippi. The Rebels finished 11-1 with a defeat of Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl. But the departure of coach Lane Kiffin to LSU was needed to be considered as part of the criteria the committee must follow. Ultimately, Ole Miss was placed at No. 6. with Oklahoma, Alabama and Notre Dame rounding out the top 10.
After that group comes BYU, Miami, Texas, Vanderbilt and Utah. Each of these teams is outside the bubble and must hope for losses by teams playing ahead of them and a boost from the committee when the final rankings are revealed.
The fight for the Group of Five’s place in the field got more definition, too. Tulane remains in the rankings at No. 21 and will face No. 24 North Texas in the American title game. The winner looks assured of taking that spot.
But another could go to No. 25 James Madison. Should the Dukes beat Troy for the Sun Belt championship, they could finish ahead of five-loss Duke if the Blue Devils defeat No. 17 Virginia in the ACC title game. Because the playoff rules state the five highest-ranked champions are in the field, it is possible for the ACC to get shut out in this scenario.
This is the final Tuesday ranking of the college football season. The College Football Playoff field is revealed in the final release on Sunday, Dec. 7.
CFP rankings Top 25
Ohio State (12-0)
Indiana (12-0)
Georgia (11-1)
Texas Tech (11-1)
Oregon (11-1)
Mississippi (11-1)
Texas A&M (11-1)
Oklahoma (10-2)
Alabama (10-2)
Notre Dame (10-2)
Brigham Young (11-1)
Miami (10-2)
Texas (9-3)
Vanderbilt (10-2)
Utah (10-2)
Southern California (9-3)
Virginia (10-2)
Arizona (9-3)
Michigan (9-3)
Tulane (10-2)
Houston (9-3)
Georgia Tech (9-3)
Iowa (8-4)
North Texas (11-1)
James Madison (11-1)
How the College Football Playoff would look based on rankings
First round
No. 12 Fifth-rated conference champion at No. 5 Oregon
No. 11 Fourth-rated conference champion at No. 6 Mississippi
No. 10 Notre Dame at No. 7 Texas A&M
No. 9 Alabama at No. 8 Oklahoma
Quarterfinals
No. 4 Texas Tech vs. Oregon-Fifth conference champion winner
No. 3 Georgia vs. Mississippi-Fourth conference champion winner
No. 2 Indiana vs. Notre Dame-Texas A&M winner
No. 1 Ohio State vs. Alabama-Oklahoma winner
What is the College Football Playoff schedule?
The schedule for first-round games taking place on campus sites will see No. 5 hosting No. 12, No. 6 facing No. 11, No. 7 meeting No. 10 and No. 8 squaring off with No. 9.
Winners of those games will advance to the quarterfinals with the Cotton Bowl hosting its matchup on Dec. 31. The other three games of the round will be played Jan. 1 with the Orange Bowl starting the day followed by the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl. The Fiesta Bowl and Peach Bowl will host the semifinals on Jan. 8 and Jan. 9, respectively.
The championship game will be played on Jan. 19 in Miami Gardens, Florida, at Hard Rock Stadium.