LSU passes Ohio State for No. 1 in Playoff rankings

The second College Football Playoff rankings have a very different look from the first one from a week ago.

It starts at the top. LSU, slotted at No. 2 in the opening Top 25, moved past Ohio State on the strength of its defeat of then-No. 3 Alabama. The Buckeyes cruised past Maryland 73-14, but the impressive road win by the Tigers was enough to move them into the No. 1 spot.

Clemson, Georgia and Alabama complete the top five spots with four weeks of the regular season left to play. While still being in the top five would seem to be a positive for the Crimson Tide, the likely lack of even a Southeastern Conference West Division title will be an issue if measured against other conference champions with one loss. Their resume does not include a win against a Top 25 team in the committee’s rankings. The only opportunity for an impressive victory will come Nov. 30 at Auburn.

Rounding out the top 10 of this week’s ranking are Oregon, Utah, Minnesota, Penn State and Oklahoma.

The Golden Gophers rose nine spots from No. 17 after defeating unbeaten

Penn State to stay unbeaten. That’s the biggest rise from any team into the top 10 and puts them in position with three more wins – including defeats of Iowa and Wisconsin – to face Ohio State or the Nittany Lions in the Big Ten Conference championship game with a College Football Playoff berth on the line.

Meanwhile, the Sooners slipped two places after a narrow defeat of Iowa State in a game that they led by 21 points in the fourth quarter. Participants in the last two Playoffs, Oklahoma needs to run the table, including beating No. 13 Baylor possibly twice, to get consideration. But it might not be enough if both one-loss Oregon and one-loss Utah reach the Pac-12 title game unscathed in the rest of the regular season.

No. 17 Cincinnati was the top Group of Five team, giving it the inside track on a New Year’s Six bowl invitation that goes to a team outside the Power Five conferences. Right behind the Bearcats in the back portion of the top 25 are Memphis, Boise State and Navy.

The top four teams in the final rankings Dec. 7 will play in the semifinals. Those games will take place at the Peach Bowl and the Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 28. The title game will be Jan. 13 in New Orleans at Mercedes-Benz Superdome.