UCF moves ahead of Ohio State in College Football Playoff rankings

The biggest movement in the College Football Playoff rankings happened outside the top four.

Central Florida moved ahead of Ohio State in the rankings. The Buckeyes stayed at No. 10 while the Knights moved to No. 9 after West Virginia’s lost. Ohio State beat Maryland 52-51 in overtime while UCF beat Cincinnati on Saturday.

The top eight teams in the rankings were unchanged. The continuity at the top is just slightly different from a week ago when the top 10 teams were unchanged from the previous week.

UCF was not in the top 10 in the final CFP rankings in 2017 after an undefeated regular season. It was No. 15 at this point a year ago. While the Knights still have no real shot at making the four-team playoff given the number of teams ahead of them, simply moving ahead of Ohio State is a big step for those who believe that UCF has been disrespected compared to brand-name programs like Ohio State.

The Buckeyes could very well jump UCF next week, however. An Ohio State win over No. 4 Michigan assuredly moves Ohio State near the top four and ahead of the Knights, who currently occupy the highest spot a Group of Five team has ever had in the history of the rankings. But with no hope at a playoff, it’s a bit of an empty achievement.

Why didn’t Washington State jump LSU?

Washington State should be ahead of LSU. The Cougars stayed at No. 8 despite picking apart Arizona late Saturday night. Two-loss LSU took care of Rice.

The Cougars should move ahead of LSU with a win over Washington next week but it’s clear that the committee likes LSU’s strength of schedule more than Washington State’s. The Tigers beat Georgia and have losses to No. 1 Alabama and No. 11 Florida. Washington State’s loss came at LSU and the Cougars played an easier non-conference schedule than the Tigers did.

Movement outside the top eight

Syracuse fell eight spots to No. 20 after losing to Notre Dame. West Virginia dropped to No. 13 behind Florida and Penn State after losing to Oklahoma State. ACC Coastal champion Pitt makes an appearance in the rankings at No. 24 after clinching the division on Saturday. The Panthers will play Clemson in the ACC Championship Game on Dec. 1.

FULL RANKINGS

1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Notre Dame
4. Michigan
5. Georgia
6. Oklahoma
7. LSU
8. Washington State
9. UCF
10. Ohio State
11. Florida
12. Penn State
13. West Virginia
14. Texas
15. Kentucky
16. Washington
17. Utah
18. Mississippi State
19. Northwestern
20. Syracuse
21. Utah State
22. Texas A&M
23. Boise State
24. Pittsburgh
25. Iowa State

– – – – – – –

Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.

Follow @NickBromberg on Twitter

More from Yahoo Sports:
• NFL Power Rankings: Sorry, Rams and Chiefs
• Jeff Passan: Yankees’ blockbuster trade sends Boston a message
• Las Vegas set huge over/under, still got crushed on Chiefs-Rams
• Terez Paylor: Chiefs-Rams epitomizes the New NFL