Looking good: Buckeyes second in CFP rankings

Associated Press

Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan and Clemson held the top four spots in the College Football Playoff rankings for the second straight week and Washington moved up a spot to fifth this week.

Wisconsin is sixth in the selection committee rankings released Tuesday night. Louisville was the team that took a big drop. The Cardinals fell from fifth to 11th after losing at Houston.

Ohio State and Michigan play Saturday in Columbus and the loser is likely — though not definitely — out of the playoff race. The Wolverines would move on the Big Ten championship game by beating the Buckeyes. The Buckeyes, though, need help to reach the conference title game.

Unbeaten Alabama meets Auburn on Saturday, but the Crimson Tide has already clinched a spot in the SEC title game.

Clemson finishes its regular season against South Carolina and then will play in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game against either Virginia Tech or North Carolina.

Washington must win at Washington State, ranked 23rd by the committee, on Friday to win the Pac-12 North and move on to the conference title game against No. 9 Colorado or No. 12 Southern California

BUCKEYES LOOKING GOOD

Ohio State could get shut out of the Big Ten championship game if Penn State, seventh in the committee’s rankings, beats Michigan State on Saturday. But listening to committee chairman Kirby Hocutt it certainly sounds like the Buckeyes have separated themselves enough from Penn State that the committee is willing to overlook their loss to the Nittany Lions and the possible lack of a conference champions.

The committee uses conference championships and head-to-head results to separate teams with similar resumes.

But Hocutt, the athletic director of Texas Tech, said as of now the committee does not see a small gap between Ohio State and Penn State.

Hocutt said committee took a lot of time ranking teams two through five, spent little time placing Wisconsin at six, and then found very little separation between Penn State and No. 8 Oklahoma, No. 9 Colorado and No. 10 Oklahoma State.

THE BIG 12

Oklahoma and Oklahoma State have set up a de facto Big 12 title game for Dec. 3, but the conference still looks shutout of the playoff without upsets in the other conferences.

The Cowboys have two losses but one was against Central Michigan and it came on a last-play touchdown that was set up be an officiating error. Hocutt said the committee does not adjust the Cowboys record for the mistake, but it does consider the circumstances of the loss.

The Big 12, at the very least, needs one other Power Five champion to finish with two losses to have a shot to make the playoff. But if it comes down to a bunch of teams with two losses the Big Ten seems to have a better chance to get two teams into the field than the Big 12 has to get one.

USC LURKING

The Trojans have won seven straight games since starting 1-3, play Notre Dame on Saturday and still have a chance to be Pac-12 champions.