The College Football Playoff Committee has released its updated rankings ahead of the final weekend of the 2023-24 regular season.
This week’s update includes a shakeup in the top five and the addition of another Group of Five school. Texas holds steady at No.7 and continues to lead the Big 12, while Oklahoma, Kansas State, and Oklahoma State also claim spots in the poll.
Here is the complete updated College Football Playoff Top 25:
1. Georgia 11-0
2. Ohio State 11-0
3. Michigan 11-0
4. Washington 10-0
5. Florida State 11-0
6. Oregon 10-1
7. Texas 10-1
8. Alabama 10-1
9. Missouri 9-2
10. Louisville 10-1
11. Penn State 9-2
12. Mississippi 9-2
13. Oklahoma 9-2
14, LSU 8-3
15. Arizona 8-3
16. Oregon State 8-3
17. Iowa 9-2
18. Notre Dame 8-3
19. Kansas State 7-3
20. Oklahoma State 8-3
21. Tennessee 7-4
22. NC State 8-3
23. Tulane 10-1
24. Clemson 7-4
25. Liberty 11-0
The most significant change is Washington moving past Florida State and into the top four after a season-ending injury to Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis. While the Seminoles may be a different caliber of team without Travis, the committee says the change had more to do with Washington’s resume, which includes more ranked wins than No.2 Ohio State and No.3 Michigan.
Florida State’s move adds a hurdle to Oregon’s playoff case, but the winner of next week’s PAC-12 Championship game, should it feature both Washington and Oregon, will likely put itself in the field. Michigan and Ohio State will also sort things out when they meet for their annual rivalry game on Saturday, with the winner representing the Big Ten East in the conference championship game.
Alabama sits in a position to crash the four-team field, possibly. While the Crimson Tide lost to No.7 Texas, the No.8 team has already clinched a spot in the SEC championship game against No.1 Georgia, and the committee would have a difficult time keeping it out of the top four if it were to beat the No.1 team for the conference title.
Louisville has been a surprise team this season and will end up the ACC champion if it can beat Florida State next week. However, the Cardinals’ resume is lacking for a one-loss team. While they did beat a ranked Notre Dame squad, they have also had close calls against Indiana (3-8) and Virginia (3-8) and lost to a bad Pittsburgh (3-8) team.
Oregon State fell by two points to Washington last week, keeping the Beavers out of the PAC-12 championship game. Washington will now face either No.6 Oregon or No.15 Arizona for the title, and Oregon State can hinder Oregon’s playoff hopes with a win over the Ducks this weekend.
Tulane has long been the only Group of Five team in the committee’s rankings, but an undefeated Liberty team joins them this week. That change could make things difficult for a one-loss Toledo squad or UTSA — if it were to win the American Athletic Conference — to earn the Group of Five spot in the New Year’s Six. However, if SMU wins the AAC, the Mustangs could easily take Tulane’s place, especially if they beat the Green Wave in the conference title game.
