Alabama's win over previous No. 1 Mississippi State shook up the all-important top four in the fourth edition of the College Football Playoff Rankings released Tuesday night.
After beating the Bulldogs 25-20 at home Saturday, the Crimson Tide moved up to No. 1 while Mississippi State slipped to No. 4 after occupying the top spot in the first three sets of rankings. Oregon, at No. 2, remained in front of Florida State with both programs leapfrogged by Alabama.
"The committee felt Alabama had been right around the top four. With what we considered a decisive win over No. 1 Mississippi State, we really think that combined with their body of work put them into the No. 1 position," said Jeff Long, the CFP committee chairman and Arkansas athletic director. "We feel like Alabama really is the most complete team right now -- offense, defense and kicking game. We put all those things together and felt like Alabama was clearly No. 1 now."
The Ducks were idle while the Seminoles narrowly survived a visit to Miami. Florida State's much-maligned schedule does include two top-25 wins thanks to No. 22 Clemson and No. 24 Louisville. Nevertheless, the committee did not feel that undefeated FSU deserved to be ranked higher than No. 3.
"We look at their body of work. We look at the games, how they played them, whether they've controlled the games. You know, they've had a number of come-from-behind victories," Long said. "We looked at that body of work, that resume and compared it to those around them -- Oregon and then Mississippi State."
Last week's No. 4, TCU, fell to fifth after struggling in a 34-30 comeback win over Kansas, while Ohio State moved from No. 8 to No. 6 after beating No. 25 Minnesota. Baylor, Ole Miss, UCLA and Georgia -- a big winner over new No. 14 Auburn -- rounded out the CFP committee's top 10. Baylor fans will not be happy; not only do the Bears have a head-to-head win over the Frogs and still sit two slots behind TCU, but they also destroyed the same Kansas team that gave the Frogs fits.
Long, however, had an answer for that, too.
"At this point, the committee doesn’t feel that Baylor and TCU's body of work are comparable enough that the head-to-head would kick in," he said. "If Baylor continues down the road and continues to win, then that may come into play in the future. The committee, we look at this week and what the teams have done at this point in time."
The rankings still do not include a team from outside the Power 5 conferences, despite Marshall and Colorado State being ranked in the traditional polls. The highest ranking team from a Group of 5 conference will receive an automatic bid to one of the bowls in the playoff rotation.
The complete College Football Playoff rankings Top 25 (as of Nov. 18):
1. Alabama (9-1)
2. Oregon (9-1)
3. Florida State (10-0)
4. Mississippi State (9-1)
5. TCU (9-1)
6. Ohio State (9-1)
7. Baylor (8-1)
8. Ole Miss (8-2)
9. UCLA (8-2)
10. Georgia (8-2)
11. Michigan State (8-2)
12. Kansas State (7-2)
13. Arizona State (8-2)
14. Auburn (7-3)
15. Arizona (8-2)
16. Wisconsin (8-2)
17. Utah (7-3)
18. Georgia Tech (9-2)
19. USC (7-3)
20. Missouri (8-2)
21. Oklahoma (7-3)
22. Clemson (7-3)
23. Nebraska (8-2)
24. Louisville (7-3)
25. Minnesota (7-3)
The CFP Rankings will be issued weekly on Tuesdays through the end of the season. The four teams ultimately selected by the committee to take part in the inaugural College Football Playoff will be seeded 1-4 and play semifinals in the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl this coming New Year's Day. The first College Football Playoff Championship Game will be held in Cowboys Stadium on Jan. 12.
