Georgia moves up as title games await

Georgia moved a step closer to returning to the College Football Playoff, moving into the top four in the rankings released Tuesday.

Alabama (12-0) continued its hold on the top spot for the fifth consecutive week, followed by No. 2 Clemson (12-0) and No. 3 Notre Dame (12-0).

The No. 4 spot after Michigan lost State on Saturday.

Georgia (11-1), which was ranked fifth last week, moved up after an impressive 45-21 win over rival Georgia Tech. Whether the Bulldogs remain a factor in the playoff race remains to be seen, with the team facing Alabama on Saturday in the SEC championship game in Atlanta.

Oklahoma (11-1) sits at No. 5 after knocking off West Virginia to earn a spot in this week’s Big 12 championship game, a highly anticipated rematch against Texas.

Ohio State (11-1) leaped four spots to No. 6 following its 62-39 win over the Wolverines. The Buckeyes will try to make their case for a semifinal bid with a win over Northwestern in the Big Ten title game Saturday.

Playoff selection committee chairman Rob Mullens said there was the typical discussion among the selection committee members about spots four, five and six.

“There was a lot of discussion about Georgia, about Oklahoma and about Ohio State, and in the end the committee voted Georgia four, Oklahoma five and Ohio State six,” Mullens said.

Michigan (10-2), opened to Ohio which dropped to No. 7 this week, saw its playoff hopes dashed and must wait for a spot in a New Year’s Six access bowl game.

Central Florida (11-0) moved up to No. 8 after extending its nation-leading winning streak to 24 games with a victory over South Florida on Friday. The Knights, however, lost star quarterback McKenzie Milton, who suffered a catastrophic leg injury. Mullens confirmed the committee discussed the injury and the play of backup Darriel Mack Jr.

“UCF outscored South Florida 28-10 with the backup quarterback in there, and we’re also aware that UCF played with the backup quarterback in the East Carolina game,” Mullens said.

“While they may have had to change their approach, it was still effective and they won a game 38-10.”

This is the fifth of the six weekly rankings released by the 13-member selection committee, with the final standings to be revealed Dec. 2. Those rankings will determine the four semifinalists along with the teams participating in the remainder of the New Year’s Six bowl games.