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Not much has changed in the latest edition of this season’s College Football Playoff Rankings, as the Ohio State Buckeyes stayed put at No. 1 following a dominant 56-27 victory in Ann Arbor over the rival Michigan Wolverines. LSU remained right behind OSU at No. 2, followed by Clemson and Georgia at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively — the same top four as a week ago.
The committee did not come out with anything unexpected this week. Ohio State’s upcoming opponent Wisconsin jumped up to No. 8 with a blowout road win over Minnesota this past weekend, and Alabama fell down to No. 12 following a 48-45 shootout loss against Auburn (now No. 11) in the Iron Bowl. On the outside looking in, you have Utah at No. 5 and Oklahoma at No. 6 — the two most pertinent teams fighting for the final playoff spot alongside the Bulldogs.
Other Big Ten teams in the CFP rankings include Penn State at No. 10, followed by No. 14 Michigan, No. 16 Iowa, and No. 18 Minnesota. Cincinnati remained a ranked victory for Ohio State’s resume as of right now, sitting at No. 20 heading into its conference championship game.
Check out the complete College Football Playoff Rankings:
College Football Playoff Top 25
| Rank | Team |
|---|---|
| Rank | Team |
| 1 | Ohio State |
| 2 | LSU |
| 3 | Clemson |
| 4 | Georgia |
| 5 | Utah |
| 6 | Oklahoma |
| 7 | Baylor |
| 8 | Wisconsin |
| 9 | Florida |
| 10 | Penn State |
| 11 | Auburn |
| 12 | Alabama |
| 13 | Oregon |
| 14 | Michigan |
| 15 | Notre Dame |
| 16 | Iowa |
| 17 | Memphis |
| 18 | Minnesota |
| 19 | Boise State |
| 20 | Cincinnati |
| 21 | App State |
| 22 | USC |
| 23 | Virginia |
| 24 | Navy |
| 25 | Oklahoma State |
Should Ohio State defeat a now top-10 Wisconsin squad in the Big Ten Championship Game, it would be shocking to see the Buckeyes enter the CFP at anything other than the No. 1 seed. The only possible scenario in which OSU would maybe be unseeded from the top spot would take a sloppy, close win against the Badgers with an absolutely lopsided LSU victory over Georgia. Obviously, a loss in the B1G title game would also drop the Bucks, but almost definitely not out of the playoff entirely.
Win or lose, it seems as though Ohio State, LSU and Clemson have all done enough to punch their tickets into the four-team postseason bracket. It will be interesting to keep an eye on how the rest of the conference championship games go as the fight for the No. 4 spot is still very much alive. Georgia would certainly be in with a victory in the SEC Championship Game, but should the Tigers remain unbeaten it will likely come down to a battle between the Big 12 and Pac-12 champs.