It took all of one week for the College Football Playoff committee’s initial rankings to go the way of the dodo, thanks to a trio of top-10 losses in Week 10.
No. 1 Tennessee, No. 4 Clemson and No. 6 Alabama lost on Saturday, throwing the rankings for Week 11 completely out of focus.
Georgia is the unquestioned No. 1 team after the Bulldogs’ 27-13 demolition of Tennessee.
The remainder of the top four are Ohio State, Michigan and TCU, the last of the undefeated Power 5 teams this season.
As for the other two teams that lost on Saturday, their CFP fates are much more dire than Tennessee, which dropped to No. 5. Clemson could win out and claim the ACC championship, but the Tigers’ struggles all year with quarterback DJ Uiagalelei have led many to consider them unfit for the CFP this season.
MORE: College football picks, predictions ATS for Week 11 top-25 games
Alabama is even worse off than the Tigers. The Crimson Tide dropped to 7-2 on the season with their 32-31 overtime loss to No. 10 LSU, and no team of the Playoff era has ever competed for the championship with more than one loss. Moreover, Alabama is not even in control of the SEC West division, making it unlikely — but not impossible — for Nick Saban and Co. to challenge for an SEC championship.
With that, The Sporting News looks at the first set of College Football Playoff rankings, including the four teams in and first two teams out:
College Football Playoff rankings 2022
This week’s top four CFP rankings underwent a serious shake-up. The Bulldogs unsurprisingly slid into the No. 1 slot after their wire-to-wire victory over the Volunteers over the weekend. Ohio State maintained its spot at No. 2, while Michigan jumped to No. 3 after blowing the doors off of Big Ten bottom-feeder Rutgers. The Buckeyes face the Wolverines on Thanksgiving weekend, a game that will almost certainly have playoff implications if both teams maintain their unbeaten form.
That left the fourth spot. And it was the Horned Frogs who were the biggest beneficiaries of all the swapping and changing in the CFP rankings, breaking into that vaunted top four on the heels of another comeback victory over Texas Tech.
Top four CFP teams of second CFP poll
| Ranking | Team | Record |
| 1 | Georgia | 9-0 |
| 2 | Ohio State | 9-0 |
| 3 | Michigan | 9-0 |
| 4 | TCU | 9-0 |
MORE: Updated AP Top 25, Coaches Poll rankings after Week 10
First two teams out of second CFP poll
The teams on the outside looking in for the college football playoff find themselves in diametrically different positions after Week 10. The Volunteers looked like the best team in the country for much of the season … at least until Georgia smacked them in the face. Still, if they can stay close to the top of the rankings, they give themselves as a good a chance as ever to earn a berth in the tourney.
Oregon, meanwhile, suffered a hearty defeat at the hands of the Bulldogs in Week 1. The Ducks have proceeded to run the table. Bo Nix is a Heisman candidate, the defense is surging and Autzen Stadium is teeming with emotion. The only question: can they keep the good times going?
| Ranking | Team | Record |
| 5 | Tennessee | 8-1 |
| 6 | Oregon | 8-1 |
MORE: CFP ranking release dates for 2022
College Football Playoff top 25 rankings from the second CFP poll of 2022
The second College Football Playoff poll is officially out, and one quick glance at the standings shows just how much stock the committee puts in the SEC. Five teams from the conference are in the top 11, spearheaded by the top-ranked Bulldogs. It’s not very often that you see a team as talented as Alabama fall closer to the middle of the pack. But it’s been a college football season full of all sorts of oddities. What’s another one?
Ohio State and Michigan are on a collision course for chaos, with the winner of the regular-season finale between the two potentially pushing the other team out of the playoffs. The pair are the flag-bearers for their respective conference, with Penn State and Illinois lagging far behind in the standings.
The ACC didn’t receive much love in the standings, either. Much of that is due to the shellacking Clemson took at the hands of previously-unranked Notre Dame, a loss that effectively ended its playoff aspirations.
TCU’s flair for the dramatic finally seemed to pay off, earning them a Top-Four spot. But there’s not a whole heap of Big 12 representation outside of it — Texas and Kansas State are the only other Big 12 sides in Tuesday’s standings. That stands in stark contrast with the dramatic — and wildly unpredictable — Pac-12, which has four teams ranked between No. 6 and No. 13
| Rank | Team | Record |
| 1 | Georgia | 9-0 |
| 2 | Ohio State | 9-0 |
| 3 | Michigan | 9-0 |
| 4 | TCU | 9-0 |
| 5 | Tennessee | 8-1 |
| 6 | Oregon | 8-1 |
| 7 | LSU | 7-2 |
| 8 | USC | 8-1 |
| 9 | Alabama | 7-2 |
| 10 | Clemson | 8-1 |
| 11 | Ole Miss | 8-1 |
| 12 | UCLA | 8-1 |
| 13 | Utah | 7-2 |
| 14 | Penn State | 7-2 |
| 15 | North Carolina | 8-1 |
| 16 | NC State | 7-2 |
| 17 | Tulane | 8-1 |
| 18 | Texas | 6-3 |
| 19 | Kansas State | 6-3 |
| 20 | Notre Dame | 6-3 |
| 21 | Illinois | 7-2 |
| 22 | UCF | 7-2 |
| 23 | Florida State | 6-3 |
| 24 | Kentucky | 6-3 |
| 25 | Washington | 7-2 |
New Year’s Day 6 bowl projections
This section will be updated.
- Orange Bowl (Dec. 30): No. 7 LSU vs. No. 10 Clemson
- Sugar Bowl (Dec. 31): No. 5 Tennessee vs. No. 18 Texas
- Peach Bowl (Dec. 31): No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 4 TCU*
- Fiesta Bowl (Dec. 31): No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 3 Michigan*
- Cotton Bowl (Jan. 2): No. 8 USC vs. No. 17 Tulane
- Rose Bowl (Jan. 2): No. 6 Oregon vs. No. 14 Penn State
* – CFP Semifinals
Zac Al-Khateeb contributed to this report.
Hits: 0
