Clemson new No. 1 in playoff rankings
Followed by Auburn Oklahoma, Wisconsin
Clemson is No. 1, followed by Auburn, Oklahoma and Wisconsin in the last College Football Playoff rankings before the semifinals are set by the selection committee on Sunday.
After losing to Auburn, Alabama fell from No. 1 to fifth in the rankings released Tuesday night. Georgia was sixth.
Miami slipped from No. 2 to seventh after taking its first loss. Ohio State is No. 8.
“It’s close separation from team
No. 5 Alabama, six Georgia, seven Miami, eight Ohio State. Those teams are close,” said committee chairman Kirby Hocutt, the athletic director at Texas Tech. “Very little separation in the committee’s eyes between teams five through eight.”
Each of the top four teams plays a conference championship game Saturday against another top-10 team, creating potential play-in playoff games.
Clemson faces Miami in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship; Auburn and Georgia play for the Southeastern Conference title; Wisconsin faces Ohio State for the Big Ten title; and Oklahoma faces No. 10 TCU for the Big 12 title.
If the top four teams win out, the semifinals likely would fall into place: Clemson would face Wisconsin in the Sugar Bowl semifinal on New Year’s Day by virtue of giving the top seed a regional advantage, and Auburn and Oklahoma would play in the Rose Bowl semifinal.
It is likely Miami would jump into the top four by beating No. 1 Clemson and winning the ACC. The same goes for Georgia if it can win a rematch against Auburn. But losses by either or both Oklahoma and Wisconsin would start the intrigue.
The selection committee could be faced with an Alabama (11-1) or Ohio State (10-2) choice. The Crimson Tide’s resume is no wins against teams currently in the top 15, but the Buckeyes have two losses by double digits, including a 31-point blowout at Iowa.
The question this week is how much is a conference championship worth?
That could be the deciding factor between Alabama and Ohio State if it comes down to those two schools. For those who want to try to read between the lines, Hocutt mentioned conference titles a few times Tuesday night.
The committee’s protocol states when teams are similar then conference championships should be used as essentially a tiebreaker.
“I will be prepared and able to answer that question next Sunday,” Hocutt said when asked about whether Ohio State and Alabama were close enough so that a conference title could be the difference.