Some takeaways from the second set of College Football Playoff rankings

The release of the second set of College Football Playoff rankings was rather anticlimactic Tuesday night, with the most “tension” coming with who was ranked No. 6 and No. 7.

Georgia remained No. 1 and Alabama No. 2, and the loss by No. 3 Michigan State meant Oregon, Ohio State and Cincinnati each moved up one spot, to third, fourth and fifth, respectively. Worth noting: Other than Georgia, no one else in the top five was all that impressive on Saturday.

+ The most interesting aspect was Michigan State sliding from No. 3 to No. 7, one spot behind Michigan, after losing to Purdue. The Spartans beat the Wolverines on October 30, and given that head-to-head results were deemed important by selection committee chairman Gary Barta after the initial rankings release — he specifically mentioned Oregon’s win over Ohio State as a big reason the Ducks were ahead of the Buckeyes — it was fair to think the Spartans would be ahead of the Wolverines with each having one loss. Both certainly have more opportunities to make their case, as each still has to play Penn State and Ohio State.

+ Cincinnati is bidding to become the first Group of 5 team to make the College Football Playoff, and the Bearcats are in a good spot. Remember that Ohio State still has to play Michigan and Michigan State, that Oregon still has to play No. 24 Utah (probably twice, including potentially in the Pac-12 title game) and that Alabama and Georgia seem destined to meet in the SEC Championship Game. In other words, the teams in front of Cincinnati have a lot of opportunities to lose.

+ One school behind the Bearcats to watch is No. 8 Oklahoma, which also is unbeaten. The Sooners close the regular season with three tough games: No. 13 Baylor on Saturday, then Iowa State and No. 10 Oklahoma State. The Big 12 title game is guaranteed to be a rematch because of the league’s round-robin schedule, so if OU advances, they’re going to have to beat a team twice in a month to win the league title. If the Sooners win out, they easily could move ahead of the Bearcats.

+ One-loss Notre Dame (8-1) is at No. 9. The Irish should win out, and given the schedules of the teams ranked above them, an 11-1 Irish team could end up in an enviable spot. That one loss, though, was to Cincinnati, and you’d think an unbeaten Bearcats team always would remain ahead of the Irish.

+ Wake Forest suffered its first loss of the season last Saturday, to North Carolina, and that loss basically ended any hope for an ACC team to make the College Football Playoff. The Demon Deacons dropped from No. 9 to No. 12, and it would seem all but impossible that a one-loss Wake team could make the CFP field.

+ There will be four more sets of Playoff rankings; they will be released on each of the next three Tuesdays, while the final rankings will be released Sunday, December 5.

Looking ahead

Here are the remaining schedules for this week’s top 12 teams in the Playoff rankings. Why 12? A 12-team field in the future is a distinct possibility, so why not?

1. Georgia (9-0): Saturday at Tennessee; November 20 vs. Charleston Southern; November 27 at Georgia Tech.

2. Alabama (8-1): Saturday vs. vs. New Mexico State; November 20 vs. Arkansas; November 27 at Auburn.

3. Oregon (8-1): Saturday vs. Washington State; November 20 at Utah; November 27 vs. Oregon State.

4. Ohio State (8-1): Saturday vs. Purdue; November 20 vs. Michigan State; November 27 at Michigan.

5. Cincinnati (9-0): Saturday at USF; November 20 vs. SMU; November 27 at East Carolina.

6. Michigan (8-1): Saturday at Penn State; November 20 at Maryland; November 27 vs. Ohio State.

7. Michigan State (8-1): Saturday vs. Maryland; November 20 at Ohio State; November 27 vs. Penn State.

8. Oklahoma (9-0): Saturday at Baylor; November 20 vs. Iowa State; November 27 at Oklahoma State.

9. Notre Dame (8-1): Saturday at Virginia; November 20 vs. Georgia Tech; November 27 at Stanford.

10. Oklahoma State (8-1): Saturday vs. TCU; November 20 at Texas Tech; November 27 vs. Oklahoma.

11. Texas A&M (7-2): Saturday at Ole Miss; November 20 vs. Prairie View; November 27 at LSU.

12. Wake Forest (8-1): Saturday vs. NC State; November 20 at Clemson; November 27 at Boston College.

Looking back

Here’s where the eventual four teams in the College Football Playoff field were in the second set of rankings each season. The teams are listed by how they eventually were seeded in that season’s field.

2020: Alabama 1st, Clemson 3rd, Ohio State 4^th, Notre Dame 2^nd.

2019: LSU 1st, Ohio State 2nd, Clemson 3rd, Oklahoma 10th.

2018: Alabama 1st, Clemson 2nd, Notre Dame 3rd, Oklahoma 6th.

2017: Clemson 4^th, Oklahoma 5th, Georgia 1st, Alabama 2nd.

2016: Alabama 1st, Clemson 2nd, Ohio State 5th, Washington 4^th.

2015: Clemson 1st, Alabama 2nd, Michigan State 13th, Oklahoma 12^th.

2014: Alabama 5th, Oregon 4th, Florida State 2nd, Ohio State 14^th. (Mississippi State was No. 1 and finished No. 7.)

The Playoff selection committee members

There is a 13-person selection committee. The chairman is Iowa athletic director Gary Barta. The other members: Kentucky AD Mitch Barnhart, former journalist/current professor Paola Boivin, Wyoming AD Tom Burman, Georgia State AD Charlie Cobb, NC State AD Eugene “Boo” Corrigan, Colorado AD Rick George, former player Will Shields, Kansas State AD Gene Taylor, former coach/current Virginia Union AD Joe Taylor, former player John Urschel, former player Rod West and former coach Tyrone Willingham.

Their task is to rank a top 25 and select the top four for the CFP semifinals. They also assign teams to the New Year’s Six bowls; the six bowls are the Cotton, Fiesta, Orange, Peach, Rose and Sugar, two of which serve as semifinal sites each season.

There are contractual obligations for the Orange (the highest-ranked ACC team not in the Playoff meets the highest-ranked available team from the SEC, Big Ten and Notre Dame), Rose (the highest-ranked teams from the Big Ten and Pac-12 that are not in the Playoff) and Sugar (the highest-ranked teams from the Big 12 and SEC that are not in the Playoff). The Sugar has priority over the Orange when it comes to an SEC participant; the same with the Rose over the Orange when it comes to a Big Ten participant.