DALLAS, Tex. (Sporting Alert) — Alabama stayed No. 1 in the latest College Football Playoff top 25 rankings, but Florida State dropped to No. 4, despite being the only undefeated team in the poll.
The Crimson Tide (11-1) kept its place at the top of the rankings after beating the Auburn Tigers 55-44 at home on Saturday for their seventh win in a row.
However, defending champions Florida State (12-0) were leapfrog by TCU (10-1), with the selection committee stating that the Seminoles’ performance against unranked teams in recent weeks have not been up-to-par.
This means that TCU, who hammered Texas, 48-10 last Thursday night, moved from fifth to third, and pushed Florida State to fourth, while last week’s No. 4 team Mississippi State (10-2) slipped to 10th in the CFP rankings after losing to Ole Miss at the weekend.
“I don’t worry about it,” FSU coach Jimbo Fisher told reporters Tuesday after the poll came out. “We go play Georgia Tech.
“We take care of business, we’ll be fine. I’m not surprised by anything anymore.”
Oregon (11-1) stayed at No. 2 after blasting the Oregon State Beavers 47-19 on Saturday in an impressive outing.
Besides Florida State’s slipping to No. 4, the other talking point on Tuesday night was the move of TCU at the No. 3 position over a Baylor side which has beaten them in their head-to-head battle and has the same season record.
The selection committee was heavily criticized by the media, which forced the committee chairman Jeff Long to respond.
“We’re at the point, we’re waiting for results now,” Long said. “We’re waiting for teams to complete their body of work. Again, we don’t project out.
“We’ve all seen games that have different outcomes than we expect.
“We focus on what has been accomplished to this point, and with that regard, the top four teams to this point are ranked where the committee believes they should be.”
Ohio State is ranked fifth and Baylor is at sixth and the pair could miss out on a playoff slot, with the selection committee hinting that if the current top four teams win-out the rest of their games, they will be the four vying for the national title this season.
The top 10 is rounded out by Arizona (10-2) at No. 7 — moving up four-places from last week with the win over Arizona State — Michigan State, who moved up two spots to No. 8, Kansas State, up three-placed to No. 9 and the Bulldogs.
Georgia Tech jumped from 16th to No. 11, the Rebels climbed seven spots to No. 12, while the top 15 includes Wisconsin, Georgia (down 5 places) and UCLA (down 7 spots).
Missouri, Arizona State, Clemson, Auburn and Oklahoma are ranking No. 16 through 20, respectively.
LSU and USC are back in the top 25 this week.
College Football Playoff Rankings
RKS. TEAMS. RECORDS
1 Alabama 11-1
2 Oregon 11-1
3 TCU 10-1
4 Florida State 12-0
5 Ohio State 11-1
6 Baylor 10-1
7 Arizona 10-2
8 Michigan State 10-2
9 Kansas State 9-2
10 Mississippi State 10-2
11 Georgia Tech 10-2
12 Ole Miss 9-3
13 Wisconsin 10-2
14 Georgia 9-3
15 UCLA 9-3
16 Missouri 10-2
17 Arizona State 9-3
18 Clemson 9-3
19 Auburn 8-4
20 Oklahoma 8-3
21 Louisville 9-3
22 Boise State 10-2
23 Utah 8-4
24 LSU 8-4
25 USC 8-4
