Georgia took over the top spot in the College Football Playoff Top 25 rankings released Tuesday night, after its impressive 27-13 win over previous No. 1 Tennessee last weekend.
Meanwhile, TCU jumped three spots into the No. 4 spot headed into its big Saturday showdown at No. 18 Texas. Ohio State is No. 2 and Michigan is No. 3.
It came as no surprise to see Georgia (9-0) move to No. 1. The defending national champion looked very much the part in the victory over the Vols, holding Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker to 195 yards passing, zero touchdowns and one interception.
The Vols dropped four spots to No. 5, and as the top-ranked one-loss team, their CFP hopes remain very much alive. Tennessee is one spot ahead of Oregon, the highest ranked team from the Pac-12. Pac-12 contenders Oregon, USC and UCLA all have one loss, but the committee has the Ducks slotted highest. USC is at No. 8, while UCLA is ranked No. 12.
If Tennessee wins out, the Vols could be in position to make it into the CFP as a one-loss non-conference champion, depending on how everything shakes out around them. The SEC has had multiple teams make the CFP twice — including last season.
As for TCU, moving into the Top 4 is validation for its undefeated season. Last week, the committee had the undefeated Horned Frogs at No. 7, behind one-loss Alabama, in large part because they needed multiple fourth-quarter comebacks to remain undefeated. Though TCU trailed Texas Tech headed into the fourth quarter this past weekend and needed another comeback to win, the Horned Frogs benefitted in these rankings from losses by Tennessee, Alabama and Clemson.
Alabama, which lost to LSU in overtime, stayed in the Top 10 despite the loss and is ranked No. 9. LSU moved up three spots to No. 7 as the highest-ranked two-loss team – leaving opening the possibility that it could be the first two-loss team to make the CFP if it wins out as SEC champions.
Clemson, which got blown out 35-14 on the road against Notre Dame, dropped from No. 4 to No. 10. The Tigers will need to win out, plus get help and chaos around them to keep any shot at another playoff berth alive.
