The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
UGA remains No. 1 as panel drops Michigan State behind Michigan
ATHENS — ESPN’S panelists on the second College Football Playoff rankings show Tuesday were not briefed on the selection committee’s decisions before going live on the air with the results between two college basketball games from Madison Square Garden. But host Rece Davis took a flyer during a brief introduction before the big reveal.
“I can guarantee you Georgia’s No. 1, but after that I can make no promises,” Davis said before going to a commercial break.
Davis was right. The Bulldogs (9-0, 7-0 SEC) were indeed selected as the nation’s No. 1 team for a second consecutive week. And Alabama (8-1, 5-1) remained No. 2.
But there were a lot of changes after that, including a curious flip at Nos. 6 and 7.
Michigan, which lost to Michigan State on Oct. 30, jumped ahead of the Spartans at No. 6 after coach Mel Tucker’s previously No. 3-ranked team lost to Purdue on Saturday.
Both teams are 8-1, but that created the most vigorous debate on the panel — especially from UGA grad David Pollack — and apparently the selection committee as well.
“The Michigan-michigan State discussion started last week,” committee chairman and Iowa Athletic Director Gary Barta said. “The committee went back and forth. Michigan, statistically, is probably a more complete team.”
Cincinnati, Ohio State and Oregon all moved up one spot to Nos. 5, 4, 3, respectively.
“It’s worth noting that teams ranked two through six all won, but the committee just didn’t see a separation,” Barta said.
Arkansas became the sixth SEC team to join the rankings, moving in at No. 25. Auburn fell four spots to No. 17 after losing to Texas A&M on Saturday. Ole Miss is 15th, and the Aggies moved up to No. 11.
This is the second time Georgia has been No. 1 in the CFP rankings. The Bulldogs also were selected as the nation’s top team in the first two rankings of the 2017 season. However, it was in this same week — the 11th overall of the season — that Georgia lost to Auburn that year.
The Bulldogs play on the road at Tennessee (5-4, 3-3) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday on CBS. They are a three-touchdown favorite.
Unbeaten Oklahoma remained at No. 8 and Notre Dame and Oklahoma State rounded out the top 10.
So far Notre Dame’s impact on the rankings has mostly been felt in how beating the Fighting Irish (8-1) has boosted Cincinnati.
Don’t count the Irish out yet. Assuming they win out, and they will be favored on all of their remaining games (at Virginia, vs. Georgia Tech, at Stanford), the Irish at 11-1 could become an interesting team if the Big Ten and Big 12 teams cannibalize each other, and Georgia clears out the rest of the SEC.
There are three more rankings before the CFP selection committee sets the semifinal matchups and other New Year’s Six bowls on Dec. 5.
The College Football Playoff semifinals will be played Dec. 31.
The national championship game is Jan. 10 in Indianapolis.