Oregon, Ohio State move up into top 4 of CFP rankings

No. 3 Oregon, No. 4 Ohio State and No. 5 Cincinnati all moved up one spot behind No. 1 Georgia and No. 2 Alabama in the second College Football Playoff rankings, which were released Tuesday night.

Two Southeastern Conference teams sat atop the ranking for a second straight week, but after Michigan State lost last weekend, at least one spot in the top four was certain to change.

The CFP selection committee simply bumped up the Ducks, Buckeyes and Bearcats and dropped Michigan State to No. 7 behind No. 6 Michigan.

“It’s worth noting that teams ranked two through six all won, but the committee just didn’t see a separation,” committee chairman and Iowa athletic director Gary Barta said.

The Spartans beat the Wolverines 37-33 just two weeks ago, but the head-to-head result didn’t carry the debate with the committee.

“The Michigan-michigan State discussion started last week,” Barta said. “The committee went back and forth. Michigan, statistically, is probably a more complete team.”

For the second straight week, Cincinnati set a new mark for best ranking for a team outside the Power Five conferences. The Bearcats were sixth in the first rankings.

There are three more regular-season rankings before the CFP selection committee sets the semifinal matchups and other New Year’s Six bowls with its final Top 25 on Dec. 5.

The College Football Playoff semifinals will be played at the Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl on Dec. 31. The national championship game is scheduled for Jan. 10 in Indianapolis.

The playoff semifinals match the No. 1 seed vs. the No. 4 seed, and No. 2 vs. No. 3. The semifinals will be at the Cotton Bowl and Orange Bowl on Dec. 31. The championship game will be played on Jan. 10, 2022, at Lucas Oil Stadium, Ind. 1. Georgia 2. Alabama 3. Oregon

4. Ohio State 5. Cincinnati 6. Michigan 7. Michigan State 8. Oklahoma 9. Notre Dame

10. Oklahoma State 11. Texas A&M

12. Wake Forest

13. Baylor

14. BYU

15. Mississippi

16. NC State

17. Auburn

18. Wisconsin

19. Purdue

20. Iowa

21. Pittsburgh

22. San Diego State 23. UTSA

24. Utah

25. Arkansas 9-0 8-1 8-1 8-1 9-0 8-1 8-1 9-0 8-1 8-1 7-2 8-1 7-2 8-2 7-2 7-2 6-3 6-3 6-3 7-2 7-2 8-1 9-0 6-3 6-3