The latest set of College Football Playoff rankings was revealed on Tuesday night, and there were some changes in the top four. Ohio State jumped Alabama into the No. 2 spot after the Buckeyes throttled No. 12 Michigan State, while Cincinnati became the first Group of Five team in history to be ranked in the top four when it chimed in at the No. 4 spot.
We are headed into rivalry weekend with plenty of intrigue around the country, and there is bound to be more chaos between now and Selection Sunday on Dec. 5. Let’s break down the rankings and judge a few of the winners and losers.
Winner: Cincinnati
It’s a big, big, big deal that the Bearcats chimed in at No. 4. They have to get through East Carolina to close out their regular season, but if the Bearcats squad that beat SMU last week shows up in Greenville, North Carolina, they’ll set up a massive AAC Championship Game for the ages. The committee respects No. 24 Houston and its 10-game winning streak, which would be another quality win for Cincinnati in the AAC title game while serving as a solid closing argument if it polishes off an unblemished season. It’ll be hard to knock them out of the top four assuming that it wins out. Hard, but not impossible. The Bearcats still have to be concerned about Alabama if it beats Georgia and the potential of a one-loss Big 12 champion. But it’s in a good spot with two games left on the docket.
The Fighting Irish are still sitting behind Michigan, which is a big problem based on several factors. One, they won’t play on championship weekend, and even if they throttle Stanford in the finale this weekend, it’s not like that’ll be a signature win. A second factor is the fact that Cincinnati and Michigan are ahead of Notre Dame. If Michigan beats Ohio…
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