Florida State rejoins Georgia, Michigan, Washington in CFP top 4

By RALPH D. RUSSO AP College Football Writer

The four-team College Football Playoff is going out with the most crowded field of contenders and the most consequential championship weekend in the 10-year history of the system.

Eight teams have at least a glimmer of hope to make the field. Yes, that means you, too, Ohio State.

The penultimate CFP rankings were released on Tuesday. Georgia (12-0) remained No. 1. Michigan (12-0) moved up a spot to second after beating Ohio State. Unbeaten Washington (12-0) was third, followed by unbeaten Florida State (12-0).

Oregon (11-1) remained fifth, Ohio State (11-1) slipped to No. 6, Texas (11-1) was seventh and Alabama (11-1) eighth.

The field for the playoff will be announced Sunday.

“As we look at it, it was a really good weekend, rivalry weekend, you get a little bit of everything,” CFP committee chair Boo Corrigan said during the rankings release show on ESPN. “What a great season it’s been so far.”

Determining which teams are CFP contenders heading into championship weekend is a bit subjective. More often than not a Power Five team with only one loss going into the conference title games – regardless of whether that team is playing – has to be considered alive.

No team with two losses has ever made the CFP, but at least a couple of times a team with two losses had to be considered in contention when it played for a conference title. Auburn in 2017 is the most obvious example.

That season was one of the few where championship weekend had multiple games matching CFP contenders. More commonly, championship weekend hasn’t been about teams playing their way into the field as much as watching for whether teams might play their way out.

Last season, when USC lost in the Pac-12 championship game on Friday night, the field was practically set before Saturday’s games kicked off.

Georgia and Michigan won their conferences to stay perfect and lock down the top two seeds, but they would have gotten in regardless. TCU lost the Big 12 title game and got in. Ohio State slipped in the back door without playing.

Alabama coach Nick Saban politicked for the Tide to get in with two losses, but there was no real drama heading into selection Sunday.

This year, every conference championship has at least one CFP contender. The Pac-12 and the SEC each have two. Two-time defending champion Georgia might be able to lose to Alabama and make the field, as it did on the way to the national title in 2021, but that is far from a guarantee.

There are multiple scenarios that could play out this weekend and leave the 13-member CFP selection committee facing almost impossible choices Saturday night.

With such strong teams on top of college football this season, it would seem to be a perfect time to have a 12-team playoff to accommodate them all. That’s coming next year.

Though an argument could be made if there were more seasons like this that produced dramatic championship weekends and intrigue heading into the selection Sunday, maybe the CFP would not have needed to expand.

Here are the paths to the final four for the contenders.

Georgia, Michigan, Washington

With perfect records, it is simple: win and you’re in.

Being unbeaten provides some hope of backing in after a loss. Especially for the Bulldogs, winners of 29 consecutive games.

Florida State

The Seminoles are perfect and in playoff position heading into their Atlantic Coast Conference title game against No. 14 Louisville (10-2), but an injury to star quarterback Jordan Travis creates some uncertainty. The Seminoles played their first game without Travis last weekend against rival Florida, and while new starter Tate Rodemaker looked shaky at times, Florida State found a way to win, 24-15.

“You want to be pushing and playing your best ball in November so you can go into December and have these opportunities,” Florida State coach Mike Norvell said.

Leaving an unbeaten Power Five conference champion out of the playoff would be unprecedented – and some would say unfair. But the committee is instructed to judge the team as it is entering the postseason.

If Florida State muddles past Louisville and Alabama beats Georgia in a competitive game, leaving the two-time defending national champion 12-1 but without a conference title, the committee will face this question: Are the Rodemaker-led Seminoles better than the Bulldogs?

“It’s more than just one player, but it’s a different team without Travis,” Corrigan said Tuesday.

Oregon, Texas, Alabama

Life is more complicated for these three 11-1 teams playing for their conference titles.

The Ducks seem to have the clearest path. The committee has had them ahead of Texas for weeks, so it would stand to reason if they beat Washington and win the Pac-12 they are good to go. The Huskies beat the Ducks earlier this year at home, 36-33, in a game that went down to the final play. Oregon has had far more decisive wins than Washington down the stretch.

“Oregon has continued to dominate,” Corrigan said. “With the season that [Ducks quarterback] Bo Nix is having, they have continued to impress with both the offense and the defense.”

Texas fans don’t want to hear that and have been frustrated with the Longhorns’ placement behind Oregon. It’s a fair complaint, but unlikely to change now with Texas playing Oklahoma State (9-3) in the Big 12 title game and Oregon getting a chance to avenge its only loss.

Texas might also have a case in a comparison against the current version of Florida State. And if Alabama can pull the upset in the SEC, that could help the Longhorns, who beat the Tide in Tuscaloosa in September. Right?

Well ... the SEC champion has never been left out of the playoff and having one that stops Georgia’s 29-game winning streak be the first would be surprising.

“This is one of the most competitive venues in college football,” Saban said of the SEC championship game. “We’re obviously playing one of the best teams in college football, if not the best team in college football.”

Among these three, Texas seems most likely to get the squeeze, and Alabama is the weekend’s biggest wild card.

A Tide victory makes everything more complicated.

OHIO STATE

In a world where Florida State, Oregon, Texas and Alabama lose, the Buckeyes look like winners.

GROUP OF FIVE

Tulane (11-1) remains the top-ranked Group of 5 team at No. 22. The Green Wave square off with SMU in the AAC championship game on Saturday. A win would all but ensure a spot in a New Year’s Six bowl game for the second straight season.

(Nov. 28)