With No. 2 Clemson, No. 3 Michigan and No. 4 Washington all losing last week — the first time since 1985 that the Nos. 2, 3 and 4 teams all lost on the same day — there was bound to be a big shakeup in week three of the College Football Playoff Rankings.
Alabama remained the No. 1 team in the nation per the CFP Selection Committee, while Ohio State jumped three spots to come in at No. 2. Michigan stayed at No. 3 and Clemson dropped two spots to come in at No. 4. Louisville, which some believed had a chance to jump into the top four, came in at No. 5 with Washington tumbling to No. 6.
There were a lot of questions coming in such as does head-to-head really matter to the selection committee?
In the AP and Coaches’ Poll this week, Louisville, which lost to Clemson 42-36 earlier this season, jumped to No. 3 in the polls with Clemson dropping to No. 5 after the Tigers lost to unranked Pitt 43-42 at home. Last week, the committee didn’t drop Texas A&M below Auburn in spite of the Aggies’ loss to Mississippi State because Texas A&M beat Auburn earlier in the year.
The selection committee stayed true to its form that head-to-head matters which is why Clemson got the No. 4 spot and Lousiville checks in at No. 5 despite being ranked No. 3 in both the AP and Coaches Poll.
Here is the entire Top 25 of the College Football Playoff Rankings:
1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Michigan
4. Clemson
5. Louisville
6. Washington
7. Wisconsin
8. Penn State
9. Oklahoma
10. Colorado
11. Oklahoma St.
12. Utah
13. USC
14. West Virginia
15. Auburn
16. LSU
17. Florida State
18. Nebraska
19. Tennessee
20. Boise State
21. Western Michigan
22. Washington St.
23. Florida
24. Stanford
25. Texas A&M
Follow us on Facebook and on Twitter.
