Georgia got a boost to No. 4, Ohio State, Indiana and Texas A&M stayed in the top three and, in what is beginning to feel like a weekly ritual in the College Football Playoff rankings, everyone is wondering what the heck might happen to Miami.
The Hurricanes were ranked 13th in Tuesday’s playoff reveal — the best Atlantic Coast Conference team and a placeholder in the projected 12-team bracket. But their two conference losses make them a long shot to win the league, and their best chance of getting into the playoff — with an at-large berth — hinges on getting some help from above them.
“Miami needs to continue to win the football games they have in front of them, and good things will happen,” explained Hunter Yurachek, who took over this week as chair of the selection committee and answered more questions about the ‘Canes than any other team in the rankings.
Clearly, their best chance would be leapfrogging No. 10 Alabama, No. 11 BYU and No. 12 Utah to move into the same section of the bracket as Notre Dame, ranked ninth this week. That, in turn, would make Miami’s win over the Fighting Irish back in August more relevant to the committee, which likes to compare teams in close proximity to each other.
Meanwhile, it’s No. 16 Georgia Tech and No. 19 Virginia, each with one ACC loss, that have the best chance to win the conference and the automatic bid into the 12-team field that goes with it.
Make sense? There are two more Tuesday night rankings reveals to position everyone before the official bracket comes out on Dec. 7.
The playoffs start Dec. 19, with the title game set a month later just outside — where else? — Miami.
No huge surprises among the top 10
No. 10 Alabama fell six spots after its 23-21 loss to Oklahoma, which moved up three notches to No. 8.
Ranking the Tide below the Sooners was an easy choice. Why they were below Notre Dame had a lot to do, Yurachek said, with comparing losses: Notre Dame fell to Miami and Texas A&M, while the Tide’s Week 1 loss to Florida State seems to look worse every week.
Georgia moved up a spot to No. 4, which would give the Bulldogs the last first-round bye in this week’s projected bracket. They were followed by Texas Tech, Mississippi and Oregon.
No. 3 Texas A&M overcame a 30-3 halftime deficit to beat South Carolina 31-30. It came a week after No. 2 Indiana needed a late rally to barely beat Penn State.
“What the committee saw in both Indiana and Texas A&M is that good teams find ways to win even when they don’t play their best,” Yurachek said.
Meanwhile, nobody has come within 17 points of No. 1 Ohio State since Week 1.
Conference watch
SEC: Texas plunged seven spots with its not-so-pretty loss to Georgia. … The best hope for the SEC to get a sixth team in the field now belongs to Vanderbilt, which seems stuck at No. 14. But whose spot would the Commodores take? … Maybe Alabama’s? The Tide — teetering right around the bubble and with a game at Auburn on Nov. 29 — needs to watch it.
Big Ten: Saturday is No. 15 Southern California’s big chance, with a game at No. 7 Oregon. No. 18 Michigan also lingers with that game against Ohio State coming in two weeks. Upsets in either contest would be the best chance for this to be a four-team league.
Big 12: No. 11 BYU and No. 12 Utah are both on the bubble and would presumably need a win over Texas Tech in the title game to give this league two teams. But Commissioner Brett Yormark seems satisfied: “I am thrilled to see the Big 12 Conference getting the respect it deserves,” he said.
ACC: Virginia’s best win of the season — at Louisville — got devalued a bit more when the Cardinals lost to Clemson last week. Georgia Tech didn’t wow anyone with a last-second win over Boston College (1-10).
Group of 5: At No. 24, Tulane is the third team in three weeks to hold the G5 spot. Power 4 games against Duke, Ole Miss and Northwestern help the Green Wave, but they would still need to win the tough American. (Think Navy.)
Projected first-round matchups
No. 12 Tulane at No. 5 Texas Tech: This would be their first game since 1971. Their 1960 meeting was a classic showdown between Southeastern and Southwestern Conferences.
No. 11 Miami at No. 6 Ole Miss: Lane Kiffin gets to coach against one of the few teams not looking to hire him.
No. 10 Alabama at No. 7 Oregon: Seems strange (or does it?) that these two programs have never played each other.
No. 9 Notre Dame at No. 8 Oklahoma: Irish beat Sooners 7-0 in 1957 to snap OU’s 47-game winning streak.
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