Oregon, Ohio St., Texas, Penn St. stay atop CFP rankings

The top four stayed the same for the third week in a row in the fourth installment of the College Football Playoff rankings Tuesday night, but a chaotic Saturday brought plenty more changes to the playoff picture.

No. 1 Oregon, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Texas and No. 4 Penn State remain atop the selection committee’s rankings entering the final week of the regular season. Indiana (10-1) dropped five spots to No. 10 following its 38-15 loss at Ohio State but remains in position to earn a CFP bid with a win over Purdue (1-10).

“We viewed Indiana, they played well at times against Ohio State,” Warde Manuel, chair of the CFP committee, said on ESPN’s rankings release show Tuesday night.

“We were impressed with some of the things that Indiana did. And they dropped five, but we still felt that their body of work was strong enough to remain in the top 10.”

Notre Dame replaced the Hoosiers at No. 5 following its 49-14 rout of undefeated Army, which dropped out of the committee’s top 25 this week. Miami (No. 6), Georgia (No. 7), Tennessee (No. 8) and SMU (No. 9) join Indiana in rounding out the top 10.

Using the current CFP rankings, Oregon (Big Ten), Texas (SEC), Miami (ACC) and No. 11 Boise State (Mountain West) would be the four highest-rated conference champions and would earn first-round byes in the 12-team bracket. No. 16 Arizona State (Big 12) would earn a playoff bid as the fifth-highest-rated conference champion but would be the No. 12 seed and would play a first-round game.

The seedings for the first-round matchups would look like this: No. 12 Arizona State at No. 5 Ohio State; No. 11 Indiana at No. 6 Penn State; No. 10 SMU at No. 7 Notre Dame; and No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Georgia.

When asked Saturday whether the Hoosiers still belong in the 12-team field based on their body of work, Indiana coach Curt Cignetti replied, “Is that a serious question? I’m not even going to answer that one. The answer’s so obvious.” The first-year coach then smiled and nodded yes with a wink.

No. 12 Clemson would be the first team left out of the playoff, with the Tigers ranked ahead of three-loss SEC bubble teams Alabama (No. 13), Ole Miss (No. 14) and South Carolina (No. 15). But the ACC landing three teams in the top 12 this week could be an encouraging sign that the conference has an opportunity to earn two bids in the final bracket.

A trio of road upsets Saturday shook up the SEC’s playoff picture. Alabama slid six spots after a stunning 24-3 loss at Oklahoma. Ole Miss dropped five spots after falling 24-17 at Florida. And Texas A&M dropped five spots after losing 43-41 at Auburn in four overtimes. Georgia and Tennessee benefited by moving up three spots each this week.

Arizona State climbed five spots to No. 16, thanks to its 28-23 win over BYU, while Iowa State moved up four spots to No. 18 after a 31-28 victory at Utah. But the committee continues to rank No. 11 Boise State ahead of the Big 12 front-runners, raising the possibility that the Big 12’s eventual champion could miss out on earning a top-four seed and a first-round bye.

The Big 12 currently has a four-way tie atop its standings with the Sun Devils, Cyclones, BYU (No. 19) and Colorado (No. 25) all hoping to play their way into next week’s conference championship game in Arlington, Texas.

Tulane continues to rise into contention for the fifth conference champion bid if Boise State loses again or the Big 12 ends up with a three-loss champ. The Green Wave climbed to No. 17 this week and have won eight in a row since losing to Power 4 foes Kansas State and Oklahoma in nonconference play. They’ll face Memphis on Thursday before playing Army in the AAC championship game Dec. 5.

“It is a balance,” Manuel said. “We have to look at what teams do throughout the season. And obviously as we watch film and take a look at what teams are doing against the opponents they have to face, we see a Tulane team that is really playing great football right now. … They’re really one of the teams that has surged up in our mind as it relates to how they’re playing at this time.”

No. 20 Texas A&M hosts No. 3 Texas on Saturday night, renewing their rivalry game for the first time since 2011, with the winner advancing to the SEC championship game in Atlanta. Missouri (No. 21), UNLV (No. 22), Illinois (No. 23), Kansas State (No. 24) and Colorado round out the top 25.

Eight SEC teams are ranked in the top 25 again this week, along with five Big Ten teams, five Big 12 teams, three ACC teams, two Mountain West teams and one AAC team.

The four first-round games will be played at the home campus of the higher-seeded teams on Dec. 20 and 21. The four quarterfinal games will be staged at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl presented by Prudential and Allstate Sugar Bowl on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1.

The two semifinal games will take place at the Capital One Orange Bowl and Goodyear Cotton Bowl on Jan. 9 and 10.

The CFP National Championship presented by AT&T is scheduled for Jan. 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.