College Football Playoff rankings: How the committee landed on Georgia, Michigan, TCU and USC

How much does Georgia care about its seeding for the College Football Playoff and where it plays its semifinal game? Ask the question or any like it this week, and you can see the wheels turning in players’ heads: Remember the talking points. Remember the talking points. Remember the talking points.

“We’re not really looking toward the big picture,” nose tackle Zion Logue said after Tuesday’s practice. “Everybody knows what we’re fighting for, but we’re just trying to take it one game at a time, not really looking forward to the next week.”

Georgia legitimately does want to focus on beating LSU in order to capture its first SEC championship in five years. Part of the unsaid reason for that may be to play the semifinal at the Peach Bowl, which the Bulldogs are on track to do after Tuesday’s release of the penultimate CFP rankings.

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Georgia is still No. 1: What that means for seeding, location and matchups

Though not officially finalized, the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff is expected to debut with the 2024 season. Each week for the rest of the season, The Athletic will test drive the proposed format using the CFP committee’s latest Top 25 rankings.

Here’s how the bracket would be seeded and the site locations determined using the committee’s Nov. 29 rankings and a 2024-25 calendar. Note: The Orange and Cotton Bowls were previously scheduled to host the 2024-25 semifinals and Atlanta was selected as the national championship game.

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College Football Playoff: What would the expanded 12-team field look like this week?

And then there were six. The College Football Playoff committee’s top four teams all play this weekend.

Teams ranked No. 5 through No. 7 do not. That means the committee was forced to show its hand Tuesday night ahead of its final rankings Sunday.

Ohio State fell from No. 2 to No. 5, and Alabama is ranked at No. 6, ahead of Tennessee at No. 7, despite the Vols’ head-to-head victory over the Crimson Tide. There’s nothing Tennessee can do to make up that ground with no game to play.

That makes the job of sorting out Playoff scenarios much simpler with six teams left in contention. Clemson’s loss made the ACC title game totally irrelevant as it relates to the Playoff picture.

LSU’s loss at Texas A&M, combined with Georgia’s season-long dominance, has made the SEC Championship Game mostly irrelevant outside of seeding. The same is true of Michigan’s date with Purdue in Indianapolis in the Big Ten Championship Game.

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With 6 College Football Playoff contenders left, what does each need to make the field?

Alabama has zero top-20 wins, while Tennessee has two top-15 wins.

Tennessee beat Alabama.

If you want to make the Hendon Hooker injury case, fine, but I don't like Tennessee behind Alabama. Bama hasn't accomplished *anything.*

Keeping Georgia No. 1 and putting Michigan at No. 2 was the path of least resistance for the committee. The Wolverines have a case for No. 1, but I’m not sure how much it matters in the big picture. TCU in Glendale or USC in Atlanta? Take your pick.

CFP chairman Boo Corrigan on Ohio State vs. Alabama: "Ohio State, the wins over ND and Penn State, you look at Alabama, their big wins were over Texas and Mississippi State."

If you load up your BetMGM Sportsbook app and put in a two-team parlay consisting of moneyline bets on USC in the Pac-12 Championship Game and TCU in the Big 12 Championship Game, you’ll get a payout of close to 2-1, depending on the constantly fluctuating odds.

You know what that means, right? It means the betting odds indicate that both USC and TCU winning this weekend is a long shot.

And if one loses? Welcome back to the spotlight, Ohio State.

Yes, Ohio State just got trucked by Michigan in Ohio Stadium on Saturday. That loss wasn’t only significant for the Buckeyes’ College Football Playoff hopes, but it was also a kick in the groin for a program that is now looking up at its most hated rival in the Big Ten. Michigan has won the rivalry two years in a row, and the pain that causes Ohio State fans cannot be overstated. What that means for coach Ryan Day and the program as it looks to the future remains to be seen.

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Wasserman: Georgia was the other loser in the Ohio State-Michigan game

CFP committee chair Boo Corrigan: "We didn't see any reason to move Georgia out of the top spot."

You can't say TCU doesn't have a marquee win with Kansas State at No. 10. That's basically as marquee as Penn State now. It's even more marquee if TCU loses.

TCU has wins over Nos. 10 and 20.

OSU has wins over Nos. 8 and 21.

Georgia, Michigan, TCU and USC are the top-four teams in the penultimate College Football Playoff rankings, the selection committee announced Tuesday, with No. 5 Ohio State and No. 6 Alabama sitting as the first two teams out.

The top eight spots mirrored the AP poll, as a consensus has rounded into form with only conference championship weekend remaining.

The Pac-12 and SEC are tied for the most ranked teams, with six apiece. All six ranked Pac-12 teams are in the top 17, while the SEC has three top-seven teams.

The ACC has four ranked teams, while the Big 12 and Big Ten have three ranked teams apiece.

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College Football Playoff rankings: USC moves to No. 4 ahead of championship weekend

As someone who watched the Florida State-LSU game on Labor Day weekend, I can't believe we're here almost to December and both of them are in the top 15.

Fantastic jobs by Brian Kelly and Mike Norvell. Those teams improved.

Mississippi State comes in at 24th, and South Carolina is 19th, so Georgia will have four ranked wins this week, if that matters. Five by beating LSU if that occurs.

No. 4 USC

No. 5 Ohio State

So the question becomes, if USC loses to No. 11 Utah on a neutral field should they fall behind Ohio State who will be playing air.

No. 6 Alabama

No. 5 Ohio State

No. 4 USC

No. 3 TCU

No. 2 Michigan

No. 1 Georgia

10. Kansas State

9. Clemson

8. Penn State

7. Tennessee

15. Oregon State

14. LSU

13. Florida State

12. Washington

11. Utah

20. Texas

19. . South Carolina

18. Tulane

17. UCLA

16. Oregon

25. NC State

24. Mississippi State

23. North Carolina

22. UCF

21. Notre Dame

1. Michigan
2. Georgia
3. TCU
4. USC

Why these four?

Michigan now has the most impressive win of the season, and the Penn State win holds up very well in the end. The Wolverines should ascend to the top spot, and Michigan, Georgia and TCU should all be safely in the field even if they lose their conference title games.

(Photo: Joseph Maiorana-USA Today)

1. Georgia
2. Michigan
3. TCU
4. USC

Why these four?

This is clearing up nicely. Georgia's still far and away the top team, but Michigan settled the Big Ten debate with a resounding win against Ohio State. TCU might be in even if it loses the Big 12 title game. And USC controls its path to the Playoff with a Pac-12 Championship Game date.