Georgia moved into the No. 1 position in Tuesday night's College Football Playoff rankings, while Notre Dame vaulted six spots to No. 5 and leapfrogged Miami following its win over the Hurricanes last weekend. UCLA climbed four spots to No. 4, joining Utah as the only remaining undefeated teams in the BCS.
The rest of the top 12 includes No. 2 Utah, No. 3 Alabama, No. 6 Texas, No. 8 Tennessee, No. 10 BYU, No. 11 Kentucky and No. 12 Texas Tech. Boise State, ranked No. 24, would claim the final playoff spot as the highest-ranked team from the Group of Six conferences.
Committee chair Hunter Yurachek said the movement reflected a weekend of significant games rather than an admission of previous errors. He explained Indiana's five-spot drop to No. 9 despite a bye week by noting the Hoosiers were "probably a victim of having a bye week at the wrong time," compounded by losses from three teams Indiana had previously beaten.
Yurachek said UCLA's two-touchdown pull-away over Minnesota — which took Indiana to overtime the week before — made the Bruins "look like the No. 4 team in the country." He added that Miami's six-spot drop resulted from the combination of losing as the No. 1 team and five teams behind them earning signature wins.
The SEC would place five teams in the projected 12-team bracket. Three more Tuesday-night ranking shows remain before the final bracket is set on Dec. 6, the day after conference title games that will disappear when the playoff expands to 24 teams next season.
Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal
Original reporting: Las Vegas Review-Journal →
English (US)·