Saturday’s Alabama victory over then No. 1 Mississippi State not only put the Crimson Tide in the driver’s seat for participating in the inaugural College Football Playoff (CFP), it also launched them to the top of the CFP poll ahead of Oregon and Florida State.
And what makes things even more interesting down the stretch is that the race for the fourth position appears to be a battle between four teams: Mississippi State (the current No. 4), TCU (No. 5), Ohio State (No. 6) and Baylor (No. 7).
The Tide secured the No. 1 spot after handing top-ranked Mississippi State its first loss of the season. The Ducks remained at No. 2 after being off on Saturday while the Seminoles performed another second-half comeback in defeating Miami on the road. Regardless of how the Seminoles are winning, they are still the only undefeated team remaining in the Big Five conferences.
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If the College Football Playoff were to begin today, fans would be treated to a rematch between Alabama and Mississippi State along with a high-octane battle between Oregon and Florida State. But while the top three positions seem locked if those teams keep winning, the same cannot be said for the No. 4 position where the Bulldogs are holding on for dear life.
According to Committee chairman Jeff Long, “the differences between teams four through seven are narrow, very narrow.”
In last week’s poll, TCU sat in the No. 4 position but after a less than impressive victory over Big 12 doormat Kansas on Saturday, the Horned Frogs slid down to No. 5. And after Ohio State’s victory on the road in Minnesota, the Buckeyes jumped one spot ahead of Baylor.
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Down the stretch, Mississippi State plays Vanderbilt and then at Ole Miss. A victory in the Egg Bowl over the Rebels would give the Bulldogs a huge resume boost.
The Buckeyes appear to be heading for the Big Ten championship if they continue to take care of business against Indiana and Michigan.
TCU plays at Texas on Thanksgiving night and at home against Iowa State while Baylor has three games remaining against Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Kansas State.
Since the Big 12 has no championship game, if TCU and Baylor continue to win out they would be co-champs but the Bears beat the Frogs last month in Waco.
The committee will release its final rankings on Dec. 7, the day after most conference championship games are played.