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College Football Playoff rankings: Top 4 unchanged while BYU drops, Boise State eyes bye

Running back Quinshon Judkins (1) and the Ohio State Buckeyes (9-1) held onto the No. 2 spot in the College Football Playoff rankings. File Photo by Aaron Josefczyk/UPI
Running back Quinshon Judkins (1) and the Ohio State Buckeyes (9-1) held onto the No. 2 spot in the College Football Playoff rankings. File Photo by Aaron Josefczyk/UPI

Nov. 20 (UPI) -- No. 1 Oregon, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Texas and No. 4 Penn State kept their spots atop the latest edition of the College Football Playoff rankings, the selection committee announced.

The No. 1 Ducks (11-0) and No. 2 Buckeyes (9-1) kept their spots for the third-consecutive week. The No. 3 Longhorns (9-1), No. 4 Penn State Nittany Lions (9-1) and No. 5 Indiana Hoosiers (10-0) stayed in the same order as last week.

The committee, which weighs many factors to determine the weekly rankings, will issue a third edition Tuesday and a fourth edition Dec. 3.

Selection day for the first edition of the expanded, 12-team College Football Playoff will be Dec. 8.

"There's a lot of discussion about the variables, strength of schedule, who they're playing, where teams are ranked, where they're playing; are they home, are they away," Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel, a member of the selection committee, said during a teleconference.

Quarterback Quinn Ewers and the Texas Longhorns (9-1) are the No. 3 team in the College Football Playoff rankings. File Photo by AJ Sisco/UPI
Quarterback Quinn Ewers and the Texas Longhorns (9-1) are the No. 3 team in the College Football Playoff rankings. File Photo by AJ Sisco/UPI

"There's all kind of things that we talk about and look at and debate and discuss as it relates to that. So it's not cut and dry. If it was about just strength of schedule, the rankings probably would look much different.

"But because we have the evaluation process, because we see how teams are playing, and all they can do is play who's in front of them, and then the committee has to deliberate and make a decision based on what we see in the results of the games and how they proceed."

Head coach James Franklin and the Penn State Nittany Lions (9-1) kept their No. 4 placement in the College Football Playoff rankings. File Photo by David Tulis/UPI
Head coach James Franklin and the Penn State Nittany Lions (9-1) kept their No. 4 placement in the College Football Playoff rankings. File Photo by David Tulis/UPI

The No. 6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (9-1) climbed up from No. 8 thanks to a win over Virginia (5-5) and the BYU Cougars' upset loss to Kansas (4-6). The Cougars (9-1) tumbled from No. 6 to No. 14 because of that 17-13 loss.

The No. 7 Alabama Crimson Tide (8-2) climbed up from No. 10 due to their 52-7 thrashing of Mercer (9-2) and the Tennessee Volunteers' loss to the Georgia Bulldogs. The Volunteers (8-2) dropped from No. 7 to No. 11, while the Bulldogs (8-2) moved up from No. 12 to No. 10.

Head coach Marcus Freeman (R) and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (9-1) are the No. 6 team in the College Football Playoff rankings. File Photo by John Sommers II/UPI
Head coach Marcus Freeman (R) and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (9-1) are the No. 6 team in the College Football Playoff rankings. File Photo by John Sommers II/UPI

The Miami Hurricanes (9-1), who were on bye, moved up from No. 9 to No. 8. The Ole Miss Rebels (8-2), who beat the Georgia Bulldogs on Nov. 9, but were on bye last week, climbed from No. 11 to No. 9.

The Boise State Broncos (9-1) used a 42-21 win over San Jose State (6-4) to move up from No. 13 to No. 12. The No. 13 SMU Mustangs (9-1), No. 14 BYU Cougars (9-1) and No. 15 Texas A&M Aggies (8-2) round out the Top 15.

Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders scrambles against Utah on Saturday at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colo. Photo by Kate Benic/UPI
Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shedeur Sanders scrambles against Utah on Saturday at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colo. Photo by Kate Benic/UPI

The No. 16 Colorado Buffaloes (8-2), No. 17 Clemson Tigers (8-2), No. 18 South Carolina Gamecocks (7-3), No. 19 Army Black Knights (9-0) and No. 20 Tulane Green Wave (9-2) are the other Top 20 teams.

The No. 21 Arizona State Sun Devils (8-2), No. 22 Iowa State Cyclones (8-2), No. 24 UNLV Rebels (8-2) and No. 25 Illinois Fighting Illini (7-3) are the new Top 25 teams in this week's rankings.

The No. 23 Missouri Tigers (7-3) held on to their spot despite a 34-30 loss to the No. 18 Gamecocks.

The Kansas State Wildcats (7-3), Washington State Cougars (8-2), Louisville Cardinals (6-4) and LSU Tigers (6-4), who were ranked Nos. 16, 18, 19 and 22 in last week's rankings, all fell out of the Top 25.

Several big-time matchups could dramatically shuffle next week's rankings.

No. 2 Ohio State will host No. 5 Indiana at noon EST Saturday in Columbus. No. 6 Notre Dame will battle No. 19 Army at 7 p.m. Saturday at Yankee Stadium in New York. No. 21 Arizona State will host No. 14 BYU at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in Tempe.

No. 1 Oregon is on bye. No. 3 Texas will host Kentucky (4-6) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in Austin. No. 4 Penn State will face Minnesota (6-4) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in Minneapolis.

Based on the current rankings, Oregon, Texas, Miami and Boise State would be the four-highest rated conference champions if the season ended now. They each would receive first-round byes to the quarterfinals of the 12-team playoff.

BYU would receive the No. 12 seed and would play at No. 5 Ohio State in the first round. Other projected first-round matchups, based on the current rankings, include: No. 11 Georgia at No. 6 Penn State; No. 10 Ole Miss at No. 7 Indiana; and No. 9 Alabama at No. 8 Notre Dame.

The winner of the Alabama-Notre Dame game would meet No. 1 Oregon in the quarterfinals. The BYU-Ohio State winner would meet No. 4 Boise State, while the Georgia-Penn State victor would see No. 3 Miami in the quarterfinals. No. 2 Texas would face Indiana or Ole Miss in the quarterfinals, based on the current standings.

The quarterfinals will be held Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 at the Fiesta Bowl, Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl. The College Football Playoff semifinals will be held Jan. 9 and 10 at the Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl.

The College Football Playoff National Championship will be played Jan. 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

College Football Playoff rankings for Week 13

1. Oregon (11-0)

2. Ohio State (9-1)

3. Texas (9-1)

4. Penn State (9-1)

5. Indiana (10-0)

6. Notre Dame (9-1)

7. Alabama (8-2)

8. Miami (9-1)

9. Ole Miss (8-2)

10. Georgia (8-2)

11. Tennessee (8-2)

12. Boise State (9-1)

13. SMU (9-1)

14. BYU (9-1)

15. Texas A&M (8-2)

16. Colorado (8-2)

17. Clemson (8-2)

18. South Carolina (7-3)

19. Army (9-0)

20. Tulane (9-2)

21. Arizona State (8-2)

22. Iowa State (8-2)

23. Missouri (7-3)

24. UNLV (8-2)

25. Illinois (7-3)