The penultimate College Football Playoff rankings sets the stage for conference championship week.
The top of the projected field looks great with Ohio State and Indiana still in the top two.
Alabama’s strange leap over Notre Dame comes at a strange time, benefitting the Crimson Tide and hurting the Fighting Irish.
It’s the last practice round before the final. Will the College Football Playoff selection committee ace the test?
Conference championship week presents an unique perspective in the 12-team field projection. Automatic bids will be clinched, but those that don’t win conference titles or don’t play no longer control their fate. As a result, the penultimate ranking sets the ultimate precedent for how teams will be feeling on Selection Sunday.
Will teams feel like their chances or good? Or does the hill look to big to climb? It’s bound to draw plenty of feelings about where their squad lands in the final days, and some of it is justified while others don’t make much sense.
The stage has been set for conference championship week, so here are the grades for every spot in the final College Football Playoff ranking before the playoff field gets officially set on Sunday, Dec. 7.
1. Ohio State: A+
The Buckeyes are in great position to defend their title as the top seed in the bracket. They just have to beat the only other unbeaten left in the Bowl Subdivision.
2. Indiana: A+
Plenty of history is on the line in the Big Ten championship game for Indiana, including the No. 1 ranking and first trip to the Rose Bowl since the 1967 season.
3. Georgia: A+
4. Texas Tech: A-
Texas Tech suddenly can get a first-round bye, although it would have been quite a sight to see the Red Raiders host a playoff game.
5. Oregon: B
There’s a chance the Ducks could get in the top four, but having three Big Ten teams would be a big talking point.
6. Mississippi: A
Good on the committee for not punishing Mississippi for losing its coach, and the Rebels do have a slightly better resume than Texas A&M.
7. Texas A&M: B-
The drop feels big, but it’s right for a Texas A&M team that doesn’t have many impressive wins since Week 2 against Notre Dame. At least the Aggies could play a playoff home game.
8. Oklahoma: B+
One could argue Oklahoma’s resume is better than Texas A&M, but nothing wrong with it behind the Aggies.
9. Alabama: F
The jump over Notre Dame doesn’t make a whole bunch of sense and seems to really protect the Crimson Tide from whatever happens in the SEC title game.
10. Notre Dame: D
There’s a chance the Fighting Irish get left out of the field, a development to watch throughout conference title weekend.
11. Brigham Young: C+
It’s Big 12 title or go home for the Cougars, an unfortunate reality for an 11-win team.
12. Miami: B
The win over Notre Dame seems like it won’t matter with Miami likely to get left out of the field, as the losses by SMU and Louisville loom large.
13. Texas: B-
Give Texas credit for handing Texas A&M its first loss. Even though they have more losses than Vanderbilt and a loss to an unranked opponent, the Longhorns still beat them and own more ranked victories.
14. Vanderbilt: B+
15. Utah: A
It’s harsh to move Utah down two spots, but it had reached its ceiling and didn’t have a great chance of making the playoff.
16. Southern California: B+
One of the better three-loss squads, USC reaps the benefit of Michigan losing to Ohio State.
17. Virginia: A
It doesn’t really matter where Virginia lands since an ACC title should guarantee a playoff bid, and there’s enough space ahead of the Group of Five teams to be the No. 11 seed.
18. Arizona: C+
The biggest jump in the rankings, you could go either way if Arizona has the best resume of the teams it is ahead of.
19. Michigan: B-
It was pretty head scratching how high Michigan was last week, yet the Wolverines drop quite a bit by losing to Ohio State.
20. Tulane: A
Now no longer the only Group of Five team in the rankings, Tulane knows a win will get it its first playoff appearance.
21. Houston: D
The Cougars getting added to the rankings − ahead of potential playoff teams − by beating a five-win team is certainly a choice.
22. Georgia Tech: D+
Always weird when a team gets to move up even after it loses. But the Yellow Jackets improve a spot after a close game against Georgia.
23. Iowa: F
Is Iowa really the best four-loss team? The Hawkeyes don’t have any major wins.
24. North Texas: A-
The Mean Green are giving a clear direction that if it can knock off Tulane, they should feel great about making the field.
25. James Madison: B-
Behind the two American conference title game teams, James Madison can’t get in the playoff field unless chaos happens on Saturday, Dec. 6.