There wasn't a whole lot of change in week four to our playoff group as many of the top teams either had byes, or faced an inferior opponent. However, one new team did find its way into the playoff for the first time this season as another was dropped after an initial strong three weeks. Let's get into it.
Rank | Team | How They Made It | Previous Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
1. | Ohio State | Big Ten Champion | 1 |
2. | Texas | SEC Champion | 2 |
3. | Miami (FL) | ACC Champion | 3 |
4. | Utah | Big 12 Champion | 4 |
5. | Georgia | At-Large | 5 |
6. | Ole Miss | At-Large | 6 |
7. | Alabama | At-Large | 7 |
8. | Tennessee | At-Large | 8 |
9. | Oregon | At-Large | 9 |
10. | Penn State | At-Large | Unranked |
11. | Missouri | At-Large | 10 |
12. | Liberty | Conf. USA Champion | 12 |
Dropped from rankings: USC
The top four automatic bids remain unchanged. There's certainly a case to be made for Texas to be ranked over Ohio State, but I won't penalize the Buckeyes for not having a quality opponent yet. Five though nine will keep the status-quo as well. Some may argue for Tennessee to be ranked higher, but using similar logic to Ohio State, I won't drop Georgia just for having a bye.
At number 10, Penn State finally cracks into the playoffs after beating the brakes off Kent State 56-0. They've been knocking on the door for a few weeks at this point, and a dominating win combined with a loss to another Big Ten foe bumped the Nittany Lions up into the race.
Speaking of that team they bumped, USC lost a tough one to Michigan which drops them out the playoffs for the time being. They're still a strong team, and a beat down of the somewhat listless Wisconsin Badgers could be just what they need to get back into the game.
Liberty maintains a hold of the Group Five slot after another win this weekend against East Carolina. This group winner has changed a few times, but until I see someone separate themselves from the rest, the twelfth and final spot in the playoffs will be reserved for those teams.