Michigan moves up to fourth in CFP behind ’Bama, Clemson, ND

Michigan moved into the fourth spot of the College Football Playoff rankings Tuesday night, behind Alabama, Clemson and Notre Dame.

Georgia was next at five, followed by Oklahoma.

The playoff picture cleared up after a weekend where several contenders asserted themselves

The Crimson Tide easily dispatched LSU from the top four, beating the Tigers 29-0. LSU, though, only dropped to No. 7 after its second loss, ahead of Washington State, West Virginia and Ohio State — all with only one loss.

Unbeaten Notre Dame moved up one spot to No. 3, and Michigan jumped a spot after a 42-7 victory against Penn State.

Assuming the top three unbeatens would get in by winning out, here are the paths to the playoff. NO. 1 ALABAMA (9-0) >> The Tide is already locked into the SEC title game and has built up enough equity that even a regular-season loss to Mississippi State or Auburn won’t keep Tua Tagovailoa and Co. out of the playoff. Now if they lost twice ... yeah, that’s probably not happening.

NO. 2 CLEMSON (9-0) >> Like Alabama, the Tigers have some room for a regular-season misstep, but their position is not a strong as the Tide’s. With a loss to ACC Atlantic rival Boston College on Saturday, Clemson would be at risk of being shut out of the conference title game. The Tigers could get in at 11-1 without playing in a league title game, but it is no slam dunk. NO. 3 NOTRE DAME (9-0) >> The Irish finish with three winnable games, but no locks. Notre Dame fans believe their team holds a trump card against Michigan, with that season-opening victory in South Bend. That could buffer the Irish against one loss in their final three games, but with no conference title and some struggling marquee teams on their schedule,

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF RANKINGS

Nov. 6

Record

1. Alabama 9-0

2. Clemson 9-0

3. Notre Dame 9-0

4. Michigan 8-1

5. Georgia 8-1

6. Oklahoma 8-1

7. LSU 7-2

8. Washington St. 8-1

9. West Virginia 7-1

10. Ohio St. 8-1

11. Kentucky 7-2

12. UCF 8-0

13. Syracuse 7-2

14. NC State 6-2

15. Florida 6-3

16. Mississippi St. 6-3

17. Boston College 7-2

18. Michiagn St. 6-3

19. Texas 6-3

20. Penn St. 6-3

21. Iowa 6-3

22. Iowa St. 5-3

23. Fresno St. 8-1

24. Auburn 6-3

25. Washington 7-3 The playoff semifinals match the No. 1 seed vs. the No. 4 seed, and No. 2 will face No. 3.

Notre Dame is not a lock if it gets into a resume contest with other one-loss teams. Even one it beat. NO. 4 MICHIGAN (8-1) >> The Wolverines have to feel good about controlling their path to the playoff. Winning out, including at Ohio State, puts Jim Harbaugh’s team at 12-1 with a Big Ten title. One loss and Michigan is out, right? Not so fast. It won’t take more than one or two mild upsets to have the selection committee sifting through a bunch of two-loss teams to fill the final playoff spot.

NO. 5 GEORGIA (8-1) >> Simple: Win out, get in. Oh, and beat Alabama. The good news for the Bulldogs is beating Alabama to win the SEC title would almost certainly make up for a second regular-season loss. Georgia has got a little leeway when it faces Auburn and Georgia Tech.