Alabama fifth in playoff rankings after loss to LSU

Alabama is fifth in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, behind LSU, Ohio State, Clemson and Georgia, which took over the fourth spot in the selection committee’s second top 25.

LSU replaced Ohio State as No. 1 on Tuesday night after the Tigers won at Alabama on Saturday. The Buckeyes were bumped to No. 2. Clemson moved up two spots to No. 3 after two teams ahead of the Tigers lost for the first time last week, including Alabama.

The Crimson Tide fell 4641 to LSU and dropped two spots. Penn State, which had been No. 4, lost 3126 at Minnesota and fell to ninth. The unbeaten Gophers climbed nine spots to eighth, the largest oneweek jump in the sixyear history of the College Football Playoff.

Georgia moved up two spots to give the Southeastern Conference two of the top four for the second straight week.

Selection committee chairman Rob Mullens, the Oregon athletic director, said Georgia’s loss to South Carolina (46) was noted by the committee, but the Bulldogs’ victories against No. 11 Florida and No. 16 Notre Dame pushed them past Alabama.

Oregon was sixth and fellow Pac12 team Utah was seventh.

Oklahoma, the highestranked Big 12 team at No. 10, dropped a spot after a onepoint victory against Iowa State. The Sooners face 13thranked Baylor on Saturday. The Bears are the lowestranked unbeaten team.

The highestranked Group of Five teams were 17thranked Cincinnati and 18thranked Memphis out of the American Athletic Conference. The highestranked team from outside the Power Five conferences receives an automatic bid to a New Year’s Six bowl.

The final rankings and pairings for the College Football Playoff semifinal will be revealed Dec. 8.

Alabama is the only team to make the playoff all five years. Can it get there again?

Barring a stunning November collapse by LSU, the Crimson Tide will not reach the SEC championship game. Looking back at the teams that already took that route might provide clues.

It’s difficult to project ahead what the committee will do next with Alabama. Those Pac12 teams trailing the Tide won’t have stacked resumes either, but they could have a conference championship and only one loss, and that’s been enough to keep teams like Alabama out before.