College Football Playoff: Washington passes Florida State for 4th

Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze, right, celebrates his touchdown catch with quarterback Michael Penix Jr. against Oregon State on Nov. 18, 2023, in Corvallis, Ore. (Tom Hauck/Tom Hauck/ North America/TNS)

Washington moved ahead of Florida State and into College Football Playoff position, coming in fourth in the rankings Tuesday night.

The selection committee’s top three remained the same with Georgia first, followed by Big Ten rivals Ohio State and Michigan.

The Buckeyes and Wolverines face off Saturday in Ann Arbor, Mich., with the winner advancing to the Big Ten championship game.

Washington had been stuck in fifth for the first three weeks of the rankings behind Florida State, but the Huskies added another victory against a ranked team last week when they won at Oregon State.

Now ranked fifth, Florida State stayed unbeaten too, though the Seminoles lost quarterback Jordan Travis to a season-ending left leg injury.

“It really was about Washington and what Washington did this weekend,” selection committee Chairman Boo Corrigan said on ESPN.

Oregon was sixth, Texas seventh and Alabama eighth for the fourth straight week.

Missouri was ninth and Louisville 10th for the second straight week.

Only two more rankings remain. The final one comes Dec. 3, when the field for the four-team playoff is set.

Travis’ injury could create a conundrum for the committee, which is instructed to consider how losing a key player affects a team. Travis is a Heisman Trophy contender and one of the most important players in the country.

Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis is taken off the field after being injured against North Alabama on Nov. 18, 2023, in Tallahassee, Fla. (Colin Hackley/AP)

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He was seriously injured in the first quarter against North Alabama, an FCS team, but Florida State went on win easily with backup quarterback Tate Rodemaker stepping in.

Rodemaker, a fourth-year player, completed 13 of 23 passes for 217 yards and two touchdowns. He has five touchdown passes and no interceptions in 31 passes this season.

“Didn’t shock anybody that was on our team because we’ve seen him do that before,” Florida State coach Mike Norvell said earlier this week about Rodemaker. “It’s the same message that I’ve had for them for three years now. You get your opportunity, just go be you. I’ve got the utmost confidence in what he’ll do.”

Corrigan said Travis’ injury had no impact on Florida State’s ranking this week.

“That’s what the next couple of weeks are going to be about,” said Corrigan, the athletic director at North Carolina State. “The key is not projecting what it will be the following week.”

Any projection of what Florida State will be without Travis would come after all of its games have been played and it’s time to determine which four teams play for the national title.

“After the (conference) championship games, we can look at who’s going to be available and who’s not going to be available,” Corrigan said.