College Football Playoff rankings: Who are the top four teams in third CFP poll of 2021?
The Week 12 College Football Playoff rankings were easily adjustable for the selection committee. But they also set up to be a potentially chaotic final weekend of football.
Only one top-10 team in the most recent set of rankings lost on Saturday. That would be Oklahoma, a team the committee clearly didn't value in the first two sets of rankings, considering the Sooners' position at No. 8 overall in each of those weeks. The top seven teams remained the same following their loss, with Notre Dame, Oklahoma State and Wake Forest moving up to fill in the Sooners' spot.
A looming concern for this committee is what will happen if each of the one-loss Power 5 favorites win out the rest of the season. That could create a logjam of Oregon, Ohio State/Michigan/Michigan State and Oklahoma State/Oklahoma. That's to say nothing of the SEC, which could presumably lock up two spots should Alabama beat Georgia in the SEC championship.
Then there's the question of a potentially undefeated Cincinnati team, which if left out would join UCF as a twice-undefeated Group of 5 team that never got a chance to compete for a title.
There's still plenty of football left to be played, including the two Michigan teams vs. Ohio State in the Big Ten; Alabama taking on two ranked teams in the last three weeks of the season; Bedlam; and a not-insignificant end to the season for Cincy, which plays a ranked team in Houston.
It's all shaping up to be a wild, fun and potentially chaotic stretch to end the season. Best take a deep breath while you're still able. Until then, here's the latest top 25 rankings from Week 12:
College Football Playoff rankings 2021
Who are the top four CFP teams of third CFP poll of 2021?
Ranking Team Record
1 Georgia 10-0
2 Alabama 9-1
3 Oregon 9-1
4 Ohio State 9-1
Who are the first two teams out of third CFP poll of 2021?
Ranking Team Record
5 Cincinnati 10-0
6 Michigan 9-1
CFP top 25 rankings from third CFP poll of 2021
Rank Team Record
1 Georgia 10-0
2 Alabama 9-1
3 Oregon 9-1
4 Ohio State 9-1
5 Cincinnati 10-0
6 Michigan 9-1
7 Michigan State 9-1
8 Notre Dame 9-1
9 Oklahoma State 9-1
10 Wake Forest 9-1
11 Baylor 8-2
12 Ole Miss 8-2
13 Oklahoma 9-1
14 BYU 8-2
15 Wisconsin 7-3
16 Texas A&M 7-3
17 Iowa 8-2
18 Pitt 8-2
19 San Diego State 9-1
20 N.C. State 7-3
21 Arkansas 7-3
22 UTSA 10-0
23 Utah 7-3
24 Houston 9-1
25 Mississippi State 6-4