What we learned about the CFP committee after the second rankings
Before The Snap’s Michelle Martinelli and Blake Schuster break down some lessons about the College Football Playoff committee’s behavior so far.
The third College Football Playoff rankings were released Tuesday and the Big Ten continues to dominate the top five, making up four of the top five spots.
Oregon (11-0) remains the top seed for the third consecutive week after completing a fourth quarter comeback to defeat Wisconsin 16-13. Ohio State (9-1) remains second after a dominant 31-7 win over Northwestern. Texas (9-1), Penn State (9-1) and Indiana (10-0) round out the top five.
BYU (9-1) dropped eight spots in the rankings to No. 14 after the loss to Kansas, the Cougars’ first loss of the season. Tennessee (8-2) fell four spots to No. 11 following a 31-17 loss to Georgia and the Volunteers are now the first team out of the CFP bracket, as of Tuesday.
Who’s in? Who’s out? Here’s how every team stacks up following the latest College Football Playoff rankings:
* – projected first-round bye
The 2024 College Football Playoff will feature 12 teams, tripling the previous four-team format used since 2014. The 12-team field will be comprised of five conference champions ranked highest by the College Football Playoff selection committee and the next seven highest-ranked teams.
The four highest-ranked conference champions will be seeded No. 1 through No. 4 and receive a first-round bye. The fifth highest-ranked conference champion will also be guaranteed a spot in the College Football Playoff and will be seeded wherever they rank. (If the fifth highest-ranked conference champion is ranked outside of the Top 12, then they will be seeded at No. 12.)
Teams seeded Nos. 5 through 9 will host first-round games on campus against teams seeded Nos. 9 through 12 on either Dec. 20 or Dec. 21. Winners of those games will advance to the quarterfinals at the Fiesta Bowl (Dec. 31), Sugar Bowl (Jan. 1), Peach Bowl (Jan. 1) and the Rose Bowl (Jan. 1). The Orange Bowl (Jan. 9) and Cotton Bowl (Jan. 10) will host the semifinals.
The championship game will be played on Jan. 20 in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Here’s a look at the full list of when the six CFP rankings will be released:
All times Eastern
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Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior WriterDec 22, 2024, 08:52 PM ETCloseCollege football reporter; joined ESPN in 2008. Graduate of Northwestern University.Former Penn
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