College Football Playoff Rankings Report- Edition #5

Welcome to Edition #5 of the College Football Playoff Rankings Report! This is the second-to-last rankings announced by the CFP committee, with the next one being the official bracket reveal. The regular season is over, which means that seeding will be finalized after conference championship games. As always, I will look at the projected field, followed by a preview of all the major conference championship games this weekend!

Current Field

1. Ohio State (12-0) defeated archrival Michigan 27-9 in Ann Arbor, snapping a four-game losing streak to what those in Columbus like to call The Team Up North. After an early interception by Julian Sayin allowed the Wolverines to go up 6-0, the Buckeyes roared back, with Sayin finding each of his star receivers for touchdowns: Jeremiah Smith, Carnell Tate, and Brandon Inniss. Michigan could not move the ball against OSU, like many other teams this season, and the Buckeyes will now face Indiana for the Big Ten title and #1 seed in the College Football Playoff.

2. Indiana (12-0) cruised past Purdue 56-3 on Friday night to win the Old Oaken Bucket, completing an undefeated regular season and looking even better than last year. The Hoosiers will be underdogs for the first time this season, as they look to prove that they are indeed the best team in the country against the only team ranked above them. This Big Ten Championship will be one for the ages.

3. Georgia (11-1) survived a low-scoring game against Georgia Tech, with the Bulldogs’ 13 points in the second quarter being the difference against the Jackets. Due to Texas knocking off Texas A&M, the SEC Championship game will be a familiar one with Georgia set to square off with their archrival Alabama, which claimed the only victory over the Dawgs this season.

4. Texas Tech (11-1) moved into a first-round bye after dispatching West Virginia 49-0 to improve to 11-1. The Red Raiders were another big beneficiary of the Aggies’ stunning loss to the Longhorns, as TTU gets ready for the Big 12 Championship Game. Another victory in the rematch against BYU would almost certainly clinch a spot in the top four and some extra time off for Texas Tech.

#12 Tulane (10-2) at #5 Oregon (11-1)

Oregon moved into the favorable five-seed due to Texas A&M dropping down following their loss. Their reward will be a chance to take on the lowest-ranked conference champion to make the field, which would currently be the Tulane Green Wave. The American Conference championship game pairs 10-2 Tulane and 11-1 North Texas, with the winner claiming the G5 spot.

However, an interesting caveat would be if Duke wins the ACC championship, as the Blue Devils are 7-5 and unranked in the CFP poll. This would likely send the winner of the American Conference to the playoff along with James Madison, assuming they win the Sun Belt Championship over Troy, as they are ranked #25. There is a chance that two G5 teams get in, sending JMU to Eugene and the American champion to Ole Miss.

#11 Virginia (10-2) at #6 Ole Miss (11-1)

The biggest news for Ole Miss this past week was that Lane Kiffin has left for LSU, making him ineligible to coach in the playoffs, but it appears that that the CFP committee is not going to punish the Rebels for that, ranking them in sixth. Ole Miss won the Egg Bowl, taking down Mississppi State 38-19, while Virginia moved to 10-2 after walloping Virginia Tech 27-7 in Charlottesville.

This would be an interesting matchup, contigent upon Ole Miss remaining in sixth and Virginia winning the ACC Championship Game over Duke. Will an unbelievable season for the Cavaliers continue in SEC territory, and how will the Rebels respond when Pete Goulding leads the team onto the field in December? Don’t sleep on this game.

#10 Notre Dame (10-2) at #7 Texas A&M (11-1)

The Fighting Irish appear to have done enough to warrant inclusion into the CFP even without a conference championship game, having bounced back from two season-opening losses to win ten straight, including a 49-20 road win over Stanford to end the regular season. Their projected reward will be a trip to Kyle Field to take on the Texas A&M Aggies, who fell to Texas 27-17 to spoil an undefeated season and likely a first-round bye as well.

This game would be a rematch of the third game of the season for TAMU and the second for Notre Dame, with the Aggies getting revenge for last season’s opening loss by taking down the Irish 41-40 in South Bend. If the seeds hold, this matchup in the first round would be riveting. However, if BYU defeats Texas Tech in the Big 12 Championship Game, both teams would likely get into the CFP, bouncing Notre Dame out of the field.

#9 Alabama (10-2) at #8 Oklahoma (10-2)

Oklahoma already defeated Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium, and this all-SEC rematch would take place in Norman, which would theoretically favor the Sooners. However, this hinges on the seeds staying the same and the Crimson Tide falling to the Bulldogs in the SEC Championship Game, which is no guarantee, especially considering the history between those two teams points towards Alabama.

The Tide have won six of the last seven matchups against the Dawgs, which includes two SEC Championships and the last two meetings. Alabama withstood a wild comeback from Georgia last year to take down UGA 41-31 in Tuscaloosa, before holding off the Bulldogs 24-21 after taking a 24-14 halftime lead in Athens. The one win Georgia has in this stretch was the 2021 national title game, in which Georgia defeated Alabama 33-18.

If these two teams meet again, it would be interesting to see whether Alabama can bounce back from losing the SEC Championship to get a win against one of the few teams that have had their number as of late. Meanwhile, the Sooners seem to have things rolling, as the strength of the defense has helped John Mateer overcome a couple of shaky performances. Both of these teams appear set for the playoffs, the only question now is their seeding.

Conference Championship Games To Watch

Sun Belt Championship– Troy at #25 James Madison (-23.5), 7 PM, ESPN

American Athletic Championship- #24 North Texas (-2.5) at #20 Tulane, 8 PM, ABC

Big 12 Championship- #11 BYU vs. #4 Texas Tech (-12.5), Noon, ABC

SEC Championship- #3 Georgia (-2.5) vs. #9 Alabama, 4 PM, ABC

Big Ten Championship- #2 Indiana vs. #1 Ohio State (-4), 8 PM, FOX

ACC Championship- Duke vs. #17 Virginia (-3.5), 8 PM, ABC

To support me and my work, please follow @arnavsarkar100 on X!