College Football Playoff rankings: Texas rises to No. 3 behind Oregon, Ohio State

Posted by author November 13, 2024 Football

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We knew there would be changes near the top of the College Football Playoff rankings released Tuesday after significant upsets in Week 11.

But those changes were not going to involve the teams at No. 1 and No. 2 in last week’s announcement. Oregon remains in the top spot this week, and Big Ten foe Ohio State again slots in second – the same positions they occupy in the US LBM Coaches Poll.

It got messy from there. Georgia and Miami were third and fourth last week, respectively, and both tumbled down the rankings, clearing the way for a new-look top five.

Rising to No. 3 is Texas, which placed ahead of Penn State and Indiana. The Longhorns have a resume short on quality wins and a loss to Georgia. The same could be said of the Nittany Lions, with their lone defeat coming against Ohio State. The Hoosiers are unbeaten and have an opportunity earn a significant victory against Ohio State on Nov. 23.

Completing the top 10 are, in order: Brigham Young, Tennessee, Notre Dame, Miami and Alabama. Mississippi rises five places to No. 11 after its defeat of Georgia. The Bulldogs fall nine spots to No. 12.

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It’s unsurprising that the SEC leads all conferences with nine teams in the rankings. That list includes South Carolina, which joins the ranking at No. 21 after its defeat of Vanderbilt. The Big Ten has four teams — all among the top five. The ACC also has four teams with the Big 12 checking in with three. The American Athletic is the only other league with multiple teams with 2.

No. 13 Boise State is the highest-ranked team from the Group of Five conferences. The Broncos are 11 places ahead of Army and 12 ahead of Tulane. The highest-ranked champion among those leagues is guaranteed a spot in the field. The Broncos could be in position to earn a first-round bye, awarded to the top four conference champions. BYU is the only Big 12 team ahead of Boise State in the rankings, and only Miami from the ACC leads them. Army has a game against Notre Dame on Nov. 23 that could send them significantly higher.

This is the second of five rankings that will be released by the College Football Playoff committee. There will be two more on the next two Tuesdays. The final rankings will be unveiled Dec. 8, when the 12 teams in the field and the playoff bracket are announced.

What is the College Football Playoff schedule?

First-round games will take place Dec. 20 and Dec. 21 at campus sites with the higher seeds hosting. The No. 5 seed will play the No. 12 seed, No. 6 faces No. 11, No. 7 matches up with No. 10 and No. 8 meets No. 9.

Winners of those games will advance to the quarterfinals. The Fiesta Bowl will be played on Dec. 31. The Sugar Bowl, Rose Bowl and Peach Bowl will be played Jan. 1.

The Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl will host the semifinals on Jan. 9 and Jan. 10, respectively.

The championship game will be played on Jan. 20 in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.