New playoff rankings put Tide 5th

In its final rankings before the official bracket is set Sunday, the College Football Playoff selection committee dropped Alabama (11-1) from No. 1 to No. 5 after it lost 26-14 to Auburn on Saturday.

Alabama, the dominant program of this era, still has a decent shot at making the playoff for the fourth straight year. Alabama likely needs No. 11 TCU (10-2) to upset No. 3 Oklahoma (11-1) in the Big 12 championship game Saturday in Arlington, Texas.

The Crimson Tide, who have won the past three SEC championship games, will be sitting at home watching as several conference championship games unfold Saturday, including Auburn (10-2), which rose from sixth to No. 2, facing No. 6 Georgia (11-1) for the SEC title in Atlanta.

If No. 8 Ohio State (10-2) defeats No. 4 Wisconsin (12-0) in the Big Ten championship game Saturday in Indianapolis, a game in which the Buckeyes are favored, they could jump ahead of Alabama and into a playoff spot.

Miami (10-1), which will face No. 1 Clemson (11-1) on Saturday night in Charlotte, N.C., fell from second to No. 7 after a road loss to Pittsburgh (5-7). Though that might affect the Hurricanes’ ultimate seeding, it is academic when it comes to their chances of making the playoff: If they beat the topranked team on a neutral field, they should make the semifinals.

Similarly, though Georgia sits outside the top four at No. 6, a win over Auburn on Saturday — a rematch of a 40-17 Auburn win at home this month — probably would give the Bulldogs the chance to play for their first national title since 1980.

Mississippi State coach:

Mississippi State will hire Penn State offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead as its head coach, a person with direct knowledge of the situation told the Associated Press.

Moorhead, a former head coach at FCS school Fordham, replaces Dan Mullen, who left Mississippi State after nine years to become Florida’s head coach.