College Football Playoff Rankings 2018: Official Committee Releases Week 12 Poll
November 14, 2018
The Top Four of the College Football Playoff rankings remained unchanged heading into Week 12.
Following a 24-0 shutout of the Mississippi State Bulldogs, the unbeaten Alabama Crimson Tide kept the top spot. They were followed by the Clemson Tigers, Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Michigan Wolverines.
Here's the full Top 25 from the CFP selection committee:
CFP Rankings
1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Notre Dame
4. Michigan
5. Georgia
6. Oklahoma
7. LSU
8. Washington State
9. West Virginia
10. Ohio State
11. UCF
12. Syracuse
13. Florida
14. Penn State
15. Texas
16. Iowa State
17. Kentucky
18. Washington
19. Utah
20. Boston College
21. Mississippi State
22. Northwestern
23. Utah State
24. Cincinnati
25. Boise State
Analysis
The Kentucky Wildcats were the highest-ranked team to lose in Week 11. They had risen to 11th in the playoff rankings before a 24-7 loss to the Tennessee Volunteers.
None of last week's Top Four did anything to warrant a demotion.
Alabama met some resistance from then-No. 16 Mississippi State but wasn't in any real danger. Clemson went on the road and dominated the previously 17th-ranked Boston College Eagles, holding them to 113 yards. Notre Dame and Michigan, meanwhile, won by 29 and 35 points, respectively.
The No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs continue knocking on the door of the Top Four following a 27-10 win over the then-No. 24 Auburn Tigers.
If no team above them slips up, though, the Bulldogs may not climb. Beating the UMass Minutemen and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackers would not improve their stock too much, putting everything on Georgia's date with Alabama in the SEC Championship Game on Dec. 1.
A little further down the rankings, the Ohio State Buckeyes were an interesting case for the playoff committee.
The Buckeyes defeated the then-No. 18 Michigan State Spartans 26-6 in East Lansing, Michigan, but they actually fell a spot in both the Associated Press Top 25 and Amway Coaches Poll. Ohio State is ninth in the AP poll and eighth in the coaches poll.
Media members and coaches clearly weren't impressed by Ohio State, which led just 9-6 after three quarters. The playoff committee agreed with that assessment, keeping the Buckeyes at No. 10.
The Oklahoma Sooners are a lot like Ohio State in that they've looked great at times but have glaring issues that could give the committee pause.
Firing defensive coordinator Mike Stoops has changed little for Oklahoma. A week after allowing 473 yards and 46 points to the Texas Tech Red Raiders, the Sooners narrowly avoided an upset at the hands of the Oklahoma State Cowboys. The Cowboys, who amassed 640 yards, had an opportunity to win the game with 1:03 left but failed on a two-point conversion attempt and lost 48-47.
While the win counted the same for Oklahoma, the result did little to convince the committee the Sooners are a Top Four team.
The Week 12 slate is unlikely to lead to a shakeup of the rankings. Only three games pit Top 25 teams against one another: No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 12 Syracuse, No. 24 Cincinnati at No. 11 UCF and No. 16 Iowa State at No. 15 Texas.