No. 1 Oregon has secured a spot regardless of what happens this weekend against Washington and in the Big Ten championship game, likely a rematch with No. 2 Ohio State. The Buckeyes’ win against No. 10 Indiana was their second high-profile victory on the year, joining No. 4 Penn State, and gives them a playoff case that could survive an upset loss to Michigan.
Everyone else has to take care of business this Saturday and potentially the following weekend to make the 12-team field.
Indiana is looking good despite the loss to Ohio State. The Hoosiers have to beat Purdue to end the regular season with one loss but are heavy favorites to take the rivalry matchup against the Boilermakers.
Two SEC teams should feel strong about their chances based on Tuesday’s rankings. No. 7 Georgia is booked for the SEC championship game against the winner of No. 3 Texas and No. 20 Texas A&M. No. 8 Tennessee has surged back into the field thanks to losses by No. 13 Alabama and No. 14 Mississippi.
These teams lead the winners and losers from Tuesday night’s playoff rankings:
Winners
Clemson
Ignored as a serious contender for weeks following an ugly loss to Louisville, Clemson is a legitimate at-large player after rising to No. 12, ahead of all the three-loss teams from the SEC. The Tigers’ biggest asset is a pretty dominant six-game winning streak after losing to Georgia. Other than that, though, they have just one win against a team with a winning record in Pittsburgh. Clearly, this team has benefited from taking care of business since a loss to Louisville and allowing other contenders to fall off the map. Better yet, Clemson can add that much-needed marquee win this Saturday against No. 15 South Carolina, one of the fast risers in these rankings the past few weeks.
Tennessee
The Volunteers might’ve been the biggest winner of last weekend despite playing a paycheck game against Texas-El Paso, a 56-0 rout. Ranked No. 11 last week, fifth among SEC teams, Tennessee climbed three places in the CFP rankings and two spots into third in the SEC pecking order. The Volunteers are in very firm playoff position heading into a must-win season finale against Vanderbilt. Tennessee is also set to benefit from missing the SEC championship game, since a third loss could’ve been an eliminator, even if that loss was against Georgia or Texas.
South Carolina
No team has made more of a late charge toward playoff contention than South Carolina, which rose another three spots after making a similar three-spot leap a week ago. The Gamecocks have won five in a row, including two wins against teams in this week’s rankings in Texas A&M and No. 21 Missouri. They could continue to climb with a win Saturday against Clemson. In fact, beating the Tigers could move South Carolina above Alabama and Mississippi and into fourth among SEC teams, which might mean a playoff bid with some help in the rest of the Power Four.
Losers
Alabama and Mississippi
Saturday’s miserable loss to Oklahoma didn’t evaporate Alabama’s playoff chances. Like the Gamecocks, though, the Crimson Tide will need help around the country to sneak into the field with three losses after this week’s six-spot drop. There’s no such hope for Mississippi. After losing 24-17 to Florida, the Rebels dropped five spots from the previous rankings and are no longer a serious contender. What a difference a week makes: Both teams were in the field just several days ago but are now have dramatically diminished playoff hopes.
Army and Tulane
Losing 49-14 to No. 5 Notre Dame sent Army tumbling from No. 19 to out of the rankings entirely. That’s not great news for No. 17 Tulane, which is set to meet the Black Knights next weekend in the American Athletic championship game. Finishing higher than the Big 12 champion and earning an opening-round bye was never realistic for Tulane given a non-conference loss to Kansas State. But with a win this Saturday against Memphis and then against ranked Army, the Green Wave would’ve had the résumé to finish ahead of No. 11 Boise State had the Broncos lost to Oregon State this Saturday but beat No. 22 UNLV to win the Mountain West, leaving both teams with two losses.
Brigham Young and Colorado
Arizona State is up to No. 16 and Iowa State is up to No. 18, so a best-case scenario is beginning to unfold that would get the Big 12 champion into an opening-round bye: Arizona State, Iowa State, No. 19 Brigham Young and No. 25 Colorado all win this weekend to send the Sun Devils and Cyclones to the conference championship game. In that case, the winner might have enough ammunition to move ahead of Boise State. That possibility doesn’t exist if the winner is one of BYU or Colorado, however. The Cougars dropped five spots after losing to Arizona State and Colorado was dumped nine after getting bulldozed by Kansas.
