College Football Playoff Updated Standings

The second version of the College Football Playoff rankings are now out, and there has already been some movement among the teams. A loss by Michigan State opened the door for a new team in the top-four, but there continue to be eight teams with a realistic chance of getting in.

Here is a look at the most recent College Football Playoff standings:

  1. Georgia
  2. Alabama
  3. Oregon
  4. Ohio State
  5. Cincinnati
  6. Michigan
  7. Michigan State 
  8. Oklahoma
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Cincinnati Moves Up

The first rankings had the Cincinnati Bearcats in the number six position, despite having a perfect record. Cincinnati has a signature win on the road at Notre Dame this season, but the rest of the schedule is pretty soft. 

Cincinnati may have been the biggest winners from the Michigan State loss. That allowed them to move up one single spot. There is still plenty of work to be done for the Bearcats, but another stunning loss by a top team could get them in the field. Quarterback Desmond Ridder will need some impressive performances down the stretch to convince the committee that Cincinnati is worthy.

Cincinnati is really competing for those final two spots as Alabama and Georgia have two spots locked up it seems. The Bearcats are going to need some help to get into the field, but they have a fighting chance. 

Big Ten Champion Getting In

The College Football Playoff committee clearly values the Big Ten Conference this season as there are three teams in the top-eight. All of the teams currently have a loss, but that hasn’t seemed to matter in the eyes of the committee.

Ohio State is still undefeated in Big Ten Conference play and that gives them a huge edge at this time. Michigan and Michigan State can still knock off the Buckeyes this season. That would boost their respective resumes as well. 

It’s still too early to predict which team will win the Big Ten Conference. However, the Big Ten champion is all but guaranteed to get into the College Football Playoff. 

No College Football Playoff Love For Oklahoma

If the College Football Playoff committee clearly likes the Big Ten Conference, the opposite is true when it comes to the Big 12 Conference. The undefeated Oklahoma Sooners are just eight on the list despite coming into Week 11 with a perfect record. 

The Big 12 Conference just continues to beat up on itself, and that has hurt the resume for the Sooners. Fortunately for Oklahoma they are going to have four more chances to impress the committee against quality opponents. 

Oklahoma still has to play Baylor, Iowa State, and Oklahoma State this season, and winning all of those games would certainly bump the Sooners up a few spots. If Oklahoma could cap off the season with a Big 12 Conference title then it would be nearly impossible to leave them out of the field.

One thing is clear from the latest rankings though and that is that one loss from Oklahoma would keep the Big 12 out of the College Football Playoff picture completely. 

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