The College Football Playoff committee released its fourth top 25 rankings on Tuesday evening, and there were some surprises within the top four. Let’s breakdown the committee’s top four, and analyze the teams on the outside looking in.
Top Four:
No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide: Alabama moved from No. 5 to the top spot after defeating one of the few undefeated teams in the country left — then-No. 1 Mississippi State. Alabama went in at halftime with a 19-3 lead, but Mississippi State was able to score 17 points in the second half to cut Alabama’s margin of victory to just 25-20. Alabama’s only loss was to Ole Miss on the road early in October.
No. 2 Oregon Ducks: The Ducks kept their No. 2 ranking during its bye last week. Oregon has had big, impressive wins this month against Stanford and Utah on the road. They currently lead the Pac-12 North standings and look to be the favorites to win out as Pac-12 champions.
No. 3 Florida State Seminoles: Florida State had another come-from-behind victory on the road against an unranked Miami team last week. The Seminoles were down as much as 23-7 early in the second quarter, but scored 20 points in the second half, including a late touchdown in the fourth quarter to put the Hurricanes away. Although Florida State is the only undefeated team left in the entire top 25, the committee still kept FSU in the third spot.
No. 4 Mississippi State Bulldogs: Since Mississippi State’s one loss was suffered to Alabama just last week, the committee still felt they were worthy of being part of the top four teams in the country. The Bulldogs did themselves a favor to come back in the second half and only lose to the Crimson Tide by five points, too. Mississippi State has beaten just one remaining top 25 team on their resume, defeating Auburn 38-23 last month.
Teams on the Outside:
No. 5 TCU Horned Frogs: TCU dropped out of the top four following a four-point win over Kansas where the Horned Frogs were down 10 points midway through the third quarter. Kansas has won just three games on the year. If TCU continues to win out, however, it might make the case to be in the top four.
No. 6 Ohio State Buckeyes: Although some speculated that one-loss Ohio State would make the top four, the committee kept them at six. The Buckeyes’ one loss came against a bad Virginia Tech team in Week 2 of the season. They have two top 25 road wins in the last two weeks — against No. 12 Michigan State and No. 25 Minnesota last Saturday. If they win out, which would include winning the Big Ten Conference, the Buckeyes could jump into the top four.
No. 7 Baylor Bears: One of the more controversial left out teams continues once again to be Baylor. Its one loss came against West Virginia, but it did beat TCU last month. Despite the committee’s usage of head-to-head match ups as a determining factor, the committee still believes TCU’s body of work is more impressive than Baylor’s.
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Alabama coach Nick Saban acknowledges fans as he runs off the field after Alabama's 20-13 overtime win over LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Nov. 9.
