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Elise Amendola/Associated Press
The College Football Playoff selection committee had one of the easiest tasks in the history of the playoff rankings in advance of Tuesday’s night release.
With no teams in the top 10 losing in Week 11, the committee decided to keep the same 10 teams in their positions from the week before.
Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame and Michigan are still on track to qualify for the national semifinals, while Georgia is first in line to replace a team that loses.
After the top 10, there were some surprising decisions, with UCF once again being slighted and the SEC being rewarded for its strength.
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College Football Playoff @CFBPlayoff
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Tuesday’s rankings release was historic, but not in the manner we hoped it would be.
Since the top 10 teams came out of Week 11 unscathed, the first 10 programs in the rankings remained the same.
In addition to the consistency in the top 10, UCF moved up to No. 11 to become the highest-ranked Group of Five team in playoff history, per The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel:
Stewart Mandel @slmandel
Same Top 10 as last week. First time that’s ever happened.
UCF at No. 11 is the highest ranking a G5 team has reached.
Once again, Alabama topped the list of the nation’s top programs, and Tuesday marked the 15th time in 28 weeks of playoff rankings the Crimson Tide landed on top, per ESPN College Football:
ESPN CollegeFootball @ESPNCFB
Let this sink in: more than HALF of all #CFBPlayoff rankings have had Alabama at No. 1 ? https://t.co/J4BIFU4Gtl
Although each of the teams currently residing in the top four has looked dominant in the last few weeks, there’s just a 14 percent chance of Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame and Michigan qualifying for the playoff, per SportsCenter’s official Twitter account:
SportsCenter @SportsCenter
With three weeks left, there is still a lot of room for chaos ? https://t.co/6v2C6YwPKW
While there wasn’t much chaos in Week 11, there’s still the potential for some results to shake up the complexion of the standings.
The one scenario on everyone’s mind involves a win by Georgia over Alabama in the SEC Championship.
As The Athletic’s Seth Emerson noted, Georgia’s No. 5 ranking doesn’t mean much because of the upcoming clash with the top-ranked Crimson Tide:
Seth Emerson @SethWEmerson
Georgia is still No. 5 in the playoff rankings, and just like last week, it doesn’t really matter.
In the event Georgia topples the undefeated Crimson Tide, Michigan and Alabama will be compared to one another, and The Athletic’s Pete Sampson pondered what would happen to the Wolverines if that occurs:
Pete Sampson @PeteSampson_
Notre Dame stays at No. 3 in the College Football Playoff rankings.
Top 5
1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Notre Dame
4. Michigan
5. GeorgiaThe question is what happens to Michigan if it wins out and Georgia knocks off Alabama in the SEC Championship Game, plus ND and Clemson win out.
Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt is aware of the situation as well, as he noted LSU’s short fall to No. 7 after losing to Alabama as a worrying sign for Michigan fans:
Joel Klatt @joelklatt
Hey, @UMichFootball fans, you better hope that @AlabamaFTBL wins out. You see what the CFP Committee is doing right? LSU at #7 is like a giant safety net for the Tide
However, playoff committee chairman Rob Mullens pointed out Michigan’s resume as one of the reasons why it’s above Georgia at the moment, per Nick Baumgardner of the Detroit Free Press:
Nick Baumgardner @nickbaumgardner
CFP Rob Mullens asked why Michigan is ranked ahead of Georgia: Gives a lot of compliments, notes No. 1 defense in the country, Q wins and ends with: “Strong resume.”
UCF once again received attention for landing underneath the marquee programs in the nation.
Mullens commented on the Knights’ No. 11 ranking by expressing concerns in the team’s strength of schedule, per the Orlando Sentinel’s Twitter account for UCF coverage:
osknights @osknights
Playoff chair Rob Mullens said the discussion surrounding UCF was much like it’s been in past weeks: impressive offense but strength of schedule continues to be a concern.
If UCF stumbles against Cincinnati Saturday, the Bearcats and Utah State could be in a fight for the Group of Five berth in the New Year’s Six.
As Fox Sports’ Bruce Feldman noted, Utah State is more than deserving of its spot in the Top 25 because of its performance throughout the season:
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