Ohio State Ranked No. 1 In Penultimate College Football Playoff Rankings
In the week leading up to the Big Ten championship, Ohio State was ranked the No. 1 team in the country after its 27-9 win over Michigan on Nov. 29.
Indiana, the Buckeyes’ opponent in the conference title game on Dec. 6, is the No. 2 team in the country. Ohio State is currently a 4.5-point favorite, according to FanDuel. It will be the first Big Ten Championship Game ever between the top two teams in the country.
Michigan dropped to No. 19 after losing to the Buckeyes.
At No. 3 is Georgia, which is playing against No. 9 Alabama in the SEC championship this weekend. Texas Tech is the No. 4 team and plays in the Big 12 championship over the weekend against No. 11 BYU for an automatic bid into the College Football Playoff.
The rest of the top 12 consists of No. 5 Oregon, No. 6 Ole Miss, No. 7 Texas A&M, No. 8 Oklahoma, No. 10 Notre Dame and No. 12 Miami (Fla.).
However, it wouldn’t be BYU and Miami that made the bracket if the season ended with these rankings since the five top-ranked conference champions are guaranteed a spot in the playoff.
With Duke in the ACC championship, if the Blue Devils win, it’s entirely possible that the ACC doesn’t get a team into the CFP since two Group of Five champions will likely be ranked ahead of them. Either No. 24 North Texas and No. 20 Tulane would be one of those teams from the American championship, and No. 25 James Madison could be ranked higher and make it in.
If Virginia wins the ACC championship, it would make the playoff over the lower ranked G5 champion.
The final CFP rankings will be released the day after conference title games on Dec. 7 at noon.
Here’s a look at the full top-25, according to the CFP committee:
| Ranking | Team | Change |
| No. 1 | Ohio State (12-0) | – |
| No. 2 | Indiana (12-0) | – |
| No. 3 | Georgia (11-1) | +1 |
| No. 4 | Texas Tech (11-1) | +1 |
| No. 5 | Oregon (11-1) | +1 |
| No. 6 | Ole Miss (11-1) | +1 |
| No. 7 | Texas A&M (11-1) | -4 |
| No. 8 | Oklahoma (10-2) | – |
| No. 9 | Alabama (10-2) | +1 |
| No. 10 | Notre Dame (10-2) | -1 |
| No. 11 | BYU (11-1) | – |
| No. 12 | Miami (10-2) | – |
| No. 13 | Texas (9-3) | +3 |
| No. 14 | Vanderbilt (10-2) | – |
| No. 15 | Utah (10-2) | -2 |
| No. 16 | USC (9-3) | +1 |
| No. 17 | Virginia (10-2) | +1 |
| No. 18 | Arizona (9-3) | +7 |
| No. 19 | Michigan (9-3) | -4 |
| No. 20 | Tulane (10-2) | +4 |
| No. 21 | Houston (9-3) | NEW |
| No. 22 | Georgia Tech (9-3) | +1 |
| No. 23 | Iowa (8-4) | NEW |
| No. 24 | North Texas (11-1) | NEW |
| No. 25 | James Madison (11-1) | NEW |