College Football Playoff Rankings Week 14: Unchanged Top 4 a Good Sign for Florida State
ByWith the release of the College Football Playoff (CFP) committee's week 14 rankings, there now only remains one more before the final one determines the postseason.
For the first time, there will be a playoff for the National Title, with the Rose and Sugar Bowls serving as the semifinal games. This week, the top seven teams went unchanged, though UCLA (8), Georgia (9) and Michigan State (10) all crept up one spot to round out the top 10.
Though the CFP committee has not favored Florida State, the Seminoles kept their third-place ranking despite another shaky win. Despite being undefeated, Florida State has one of the easiest schedules among teams in the top 25 and have not been winning as convincingly as last season.
"This has been a week of stability in the rankings, especially at the top. Given the way the games were played over the past week, there was very little change," selection chairman Jeff Long said in a press release. "As important as the rankings are at the top, I want to continue to emphasize we focus on all 25. Our job is to rank 1-25 and we take that very seriously. We spend a great deal of time talking about each team that we rank."
Alabama (1) and Oregon (2) kept the top two spots, while Mississippi State rounded out the top four.
TCU (5) and Baylor (7) are tied atop the Big 12 with Kansas State, but the conference does not have a title game. All three teams have two games remaining and Baylor and Kansas State are scheduled to play on Dec. 6. With one loss apiece, Baylor and TCU may have the best shot at making the CFP, but they will need to win the Big 12 first.
After beating Michigan State, it became clear that Ohio State is the favorite to win the Big Ten. Though their one loss came to Virginia Tech, the Buckeyes have been on a mission to avenge the disappointing end to last season and they now seem poised to grab a spot in the playoff.