With Ohio State, LSU, Clemson and Georgia remaining atop the College Football Playoff rankings, Alabama‘s loss to Auburn opened the door for Utah and Oklahoma to move up to No. 5 and No. 6, respectively, entering this weekend’s conference championship games. Taking advantage of Minnesota‘s loss to Wisconsin, Baylor moved up two spots to No. 7 entering Saturday’s Big 12 title game against the No. 6 Sooners.
With Ohio State (56-27 over Michigan), LSU (50-7 over Texas A&M), Clemson (38-3 over South Carolina) and Georgia (52-7 over Georgia Tech) all winning easily on Saturday, the focus entering Tuesday’s rankings was squarely on Utah and Oklahoma, to see which would emerge with the fifth spot.
Utah will look to state its case for a spot in the College Football Playoff on Friday night when it meets No. 13 Oregon (10-2) for the Pac-12 title. The question for Utah, Oklahoma and Baylor is whether a victory this weekend in their respective conference title games will be enough to earn a top-four spot; the Utes and Bears are seeking their first CFP berth, while the Sooners are aiming for a fourth appearance.
LSU (12-0) and Georgia square off for the SEC title on Saturday afternoon, and Ohio State (12-0) meets 10-2 Wisconsin in Saturday night’s Big Ten title game. Clemson (12-0) faces Virginia (9-3) in Saturday night’s ACC championship game. A loss by Georgia could open the door for Utah, Oklahoma or Baylor to gain a CFP berth.
The final rankings, which will reveal the New Year’s Six teams and set the field for the College Football Playoff, will be released Sunday.