UGA moves into top four; Ohio State is No. 6

The Georgia Bulldogs climbed to No. 4 in the College Football Playoff selection committee’s next-tolast rankings of the season, released Tuesday night.

Georgia moved up one spot after Michigan, previously the No. 4 team, lost to Ohio State.

The top three teams, all unbeaten, were unchanged: No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Clemson and No. 3 Notre Dame.

Now the question for Georgia is whether it will remain in the top four when it counts Sunday afternoon. That’s when the selection committee will unveil its final rankings of the season, with the

top four teams at that point earning berths in the playoff.

The final rankings will be heavily influenced by Saturday’s conference championship games around the country, including Georgia vs. Alabama in the SEC title game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Georgia (11-1) is the highest-ranked one-loss team, but two other one-loss teams from power conferences — Oklahoma and Ohio State — are in striking distance of the top four at Nos. 5 and 6, respectively. Ohio State jumped four spots after its 62-39 win over Michigan.

Oklahoma will play Texas in the Big 12 Championship game, while Ohio State will face Northwestern in the Big Ten Championship game, both Saturday.

Michigan fell to No. 7 in Tuesday’s rankings in the aftermath of its loss at Ohio State.

Rounding out the top 10 are No. 8 Central Florida, No. 9 Florida and No. 10 LSU.

Sunday’s final rankings will set the playoff bracket. The No. 1 team will face No. 4 and No. 2 will face No. 3 in the semifinals, which will be played in the Orange and Cotton bowls Dec. 29.