College Football Playoff Rankings: Michigan and CSU advance as USC enters a four-team field in the top 25 freshman

The penultimate ranking in the College Football Playoff Rankings was bound to have a change with the week of competition leading up to the release of the newest 25 teams. And that’s exactly what happened on Tuesday night as Michigan and TCU moved within one space with USC entering the four-team field and Georgia retaining first place.

The reshuffle came amid Michigan’s overall thrashing of then-No. 2 Ohio State in the 2022 edition of the game. The defeat knocked the Buckeyes out of the top four, though they sit in fifth place with the best chance of entering the playoffs of any team not already in the expected field.

USC had long been expected to move into the top four this week if it passed its latest test, and it did just that (with colors flying) thanks to a clean home win against then-No. 15 Notre Dame. It was the second straight victory over a ranked opponent the Trojans, who now sit in the Pac-12 Championship Game over No. 11 Utah by becoming the first team from that conference to participate in the CFP over the past six seasons (2016-17). . Utah is the only team to beat USC this year, giving the Trojans a chance to beat that negative data point head-on in the last week of the season.

The most notable acrobat in this week’s rankings was LSU, which lost its third game of the season to a Texas A&M team that entered with just four wins. The Bayou Bengals dropped nine spots from searching for a long-term playoff entry to No. 14. Clemson only fell one place after losing to South Carolina as it was the Tigers’ second loss of the season, but they hit themselves the same. From a playoff bid out of chance. Meanwhile, the Gamecocks had the biggest rise in the week jumping from unranked to No. 19 on the back of defeating top 10 teams in consecutive weeks for the first time in program history.

Let’s take a look at the entire top 25 CFP rankings with more analysis from dish expert Jerry Palm.

College Football Playoff Rankings, Nov. 29

1. Georgia (12-0)
2. Michigan (12-0)
3. TCU (12-0)
4. USC (1-11)
5. Ohio State (1-11)
6. Alabama (10-2)
7. Tennessee (10-2)
8. Pennsylvania state (10-2)
9. Clemson (10-2)
10. Kansas State (9-3)
11. Utah (9-3)
12. Washington (10-2)
13. Florida (9-3)
14. LSU (9-3)
15. Oregon (9-3)
16. Oregon (9-3)
17. University of California (9-3)
18. Tulane (10-2)
19. South Carolina (4-8)
20. Texas (4-8)
21. Notre Dame (4-8)
22. UCF (9-3)
23. North Carolina (9-3)
24. Mississippi (4-8)
25. North Carolina State (4-8)

Analysis by dish expert Jerry Palm

Overall, there were no surprises at the top of the CFP rankings. The only question to answer was which team would be No. 5. This matters because if USC falters against Utah for the second time now with the Pac-12 title on the line, the CFP Trojans will likely drop the feud with Ohio State taking their place.

Losses to LSU, Clemson, and Oregon took a lot of the drama out of the race for CFP as the three undefeated teams at the top of the standings — Georgia, Michigan, TCU — would be in the playoff, win or lose. It’s an indication of how strong they’ve been from start to finish this season.

Although some have questioned TCU, just look at the team sitting in 10th place, it’s the Horned Frogs’ opponent in the Big 12 Championship Game, Kansas State. This shows the level of respect the CFP selection committee has for wild cats. Also, of those three undefeated teams, TCU will play the highest-ranked team in the league title game.

The rankings are not only important for selecting CFP participants as they often play a role in selecting teams for the six New Year’s games. The rankings can be used to select replacements for bowls losing a conference champion to the CFP, and they also determine the big bowls.

For example, Georgia’s opponent in the SEC Championship, LSU, was knocked out by the committee for losing to a dying Texas A&M. The Tigers fell to 14th and fell off the range for a Game Six pick in the new year. LSU’s only chance now is to make its way to the Sugar Bowl. The SEC could have put four teams into the New Year’s Six if the Tigers defeated the Aggies.

Penn State is the likely recipient of the Penn State dropout. The Nittany Lions are now ranked No. 8 and well positioned to play in the Cotton Bowl.