Major shifts were not a feature of the third set of College Football Playoff selection committee rankings. LSU and USC rose slightly thanks to Oregon losing to Washington. Georgia is the most likely to stay in the top four after clinching the SEC East, setting up a date with LSU in the conference championship. Georgia faces Kentucky this weekend, and if they can rout the Wildcats, they might make the playoff even if they lose to LSU. Michigan also has a chance to gain style points with a home game against Illinois this weekend, so long as they are not looking ahead to next week’s showdown with Ohio State. TCU takes on Baylor this weekend, and if the Horned Frogs somehow make it through to the national semifinal, the beating that the top seed would administer should be the most emphatic in a series of messages over the last few years that nothing essentially separates the Big 12 from the American Athletic Conference, even with Texas and Oklahoma still onboard. Check out the latest CFP rankings that may influence your College Football betting choices, as well as a look at some of the key matchups the committee will be watching.
NCAA News: College Football Top 25 and Betting Opportunities
#1 Georgia Bulldogs
#2 Ohio State Buckeyes
#3 Michigan Wolverines
#4 TCU Horned Frogs
#5 Tennessee Volunteers
#6 LSU Tigers
#7 USC Trojans
#8 Alabama Crimson Tide
#9 Clemson Tigers
#10 Utah Utes
#11 Penn State Nittany Lions
#12 Oregon Ducks
#13 North Carolina Tar Heels
#14 Ole Miss Rebels
#15 Kansas State Wildcats
#16 UCLA Bruins
#17 Washington Huskies
#18 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
#19 Florida State Seminoles
#20 UCF Golden Knights
#21 Tulane Green Wave
#22 Oklahoma State Cowboys
#23 Oregon State Beavers
#24 N.C. State Wolfpack
#25 Cincinnati Bearcats
USC at UCLA
The Bruins lost to Arizona last week, knocking them out of CFP consideration. USC has already lost to Utah, so a loss to UCLA would end their national title hopes as well. USC could finish with wins over UCLA, Notre Dame and its Pac-12 title game opponent. However, Notre Dame lost at home to Marshall and almost lost to Navy. Was its win over Clemson testament to Notre Dame’s quality or the Tigers’ flaws? Either way, USC must win to stay in the semifinal conversation.
TCU at Baylor
Kansas State beat Baylor, 31-3, last week. TCU came back to eke out a win over Kansas State (as the Wildcats featured a backup quarterback). They finish with Iowa State, and a loss in either of those games, or in the Big 12 Championship, should send the Horned Frogs to another New Year’s bowl. If we’re going to be honest, the rest of the top ten has a better resume, in terms of strength of schedule, than TCU, so expect the committee to be looking for reasons to jettison the Horned Frogs, as they don’t want to risk an utter blowout in a national semifinal.
Tennessee at South Carolina
The Volunteers have beaten Alabama and LSU but won’t be in the SEC title game. This means that they need to go to South Carolina and rout the Gamecocks, who are headed to a bowl game. If LSU beats Georgia, Tennessee would have the claim of a 27-point win over the SEC champions, while TCU has beaten…Oklahoma State? A team that later got blown out by Kansas State?
Miami (FL) at Clemson
Clemson is another team that does not really deserve to be in the title conversation at this point. They got drilled by a Notre Dame team that has a hideous home loss. They did beat Florida State and NC State, and the ACC competition is not demonstrably better than what you find in the Pac-12 at this point. They need to beat Miami to have any shot at all at vaulting into the top four if chaos ensues above them.
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