Oklahoma, Iowa

Oklahoma jumps 4 spots to No. 3; Notre Dame drops

make big gains in College Football Playoff rankings.

Another week and another round of College Football Playoff drama, with Oklahoma and Iowa jumping into the top four in the rankings revealed Tuesday night.

No. 1 Clemson (11-0) and No. 2 Alabama (10-1) remained in the top positions, but No. 3 Oklahoma (10-1) made the biggest splash, jumping four spots after the Sooners’ win over TCU on Saturday.

It was Oklahoma’s fourth victory over a ranked opponent this season.

Iowa (11-0) moved up to the No. 4 spot after a 40-20 win over Purdue.

Critics have questioned the Hawkeyes’ body of work, but selection committee members obviously are impressed.

Michigan State (10-1) jumped four spots to No. 5 after the Spartans upset Ohio State 17-14 on Saturday. A win over Penn State would send Mark Dantonio’s team to the Big Ten title game, where it would face Iowa.

As some expected, Notre Dame (10-1) dropped two spots from fourth to sixth after an unimpressive 19-16 victory over Boston College. The Irish wrap up the regular season at No. 9 Stanford on Saturday.

It’s rivalry week for many schools across the country, which means we’re sure to see several more moves before the final rankings are set.

No. 12 Florida, which dropped four spots after barely slipping past Florida Atlantic in overtime, for example, will be taking on No. 13 Florida State, which moved up one spot after routing Tennessee-Chattanooga.

Navy (9-1) remained the top Group of 5 team, with the Midshipmen moving up a spot from No. 16 to No. 15. Navy has a big matchup against one-loss Houston this week. Toledo (10-1) of the Mid-American Conference checked in at No. 24, followed by Temple (9-2) at No. 25.

The 12-member committee’s final rankings will be revealed at noon Dec. 6 on ESPN.

The top four teams qualify for the two semifinal games, which will be held at the Orange and Cotton bowls on Dec. 31.

The winners will meet in the national championship game on Monday, Jan. 11, at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.