Tuesday night’s College Football Playoff rankings should come with a real shake-up after a weekend that hit the top 10 hard.
Miami, which sat at No. 1 in the source projection, lost to No. 11 Notre Dame.
Georgia handled No. 10 Ole Miss.
Utah beat No. 9 BYU.
Alabama took down No. 14 LSU.
Kentucky fell to No. 13 Tennessee.
With three losses inside the top 10, the committee is staring at a board that could look very different when the new rankings drop at 6 p.m. PT.
The biggest fallout may come for the teams that lost at home to ranked opponents. Ole Miss and LSU both took damage, and the question now is how steep those drops will be.
Kentucky is still alive with two losses, but the Wildcats no longer have a clear path to the conference title game. That matters now more than ever, with November losses carrying extra weight as the playoff picture tightens.
Notre Dame is one of the teams to watch most closely. After opening at No. 11 in the first rankings, the Fighting Irish have a chance to surge after knocking off Miami. The committee also has to decide how to treat the Hurricanes after that loss: do they stay ahead of Notre Dame, or does the head-to-head result and the Irish’s momentum push them past Miami?
Oregon is another major test case. The Ducks beat No.
12 Ohio State, and the committee’s handling of that result could tell us a lot about how they view Oregon’s at-large chances if the Big Ten title path slips away. The Ducks may still be boxed in behind some two-loss teams, but they are firmly in the conversation.
There’s also the head-to-head question with USC. Oregon beat No.
20 USC, but the Trojans have one fewer loss, so they are likely to remain ahead of the Ducks for now. Still, Lincoln Riley’s team still has No.
4 Indiana and No. 8 UCLA left on the schedule, which could change the picture again.
At the back end of the rankings, Iowa is sitting as the likely third Big Ten team in the playoff mix behind Indiana and UCLA, though there’s still time for that to shift with three weeks left. UCLA’s road win over Minnesota could also help the Bruins climb.
BYU’s placement is another one to watch. If the Cougars land too low, they could find themselves on the outside of the 12-team field, especially with two conference losses and no obvious route to the Big 12 title game.
The source projection had Georgia at No. 1, followed by Utah, Indiana, Alabama, Notre Dame, Miami, Texas, UCLA, Tennessee and Texas Tech in the top 10. Kentucky, Wake Forest, Iowa, Houston, USC, BYU, Oregon, South Carolina, Ole Miss, Ohio State, Arizona, Boise State, LSU, New Mexico and Missouri rounded out the rest of the top 25.
A separate projected ranking listed Miami at No. 1, with Georgia, Utah, Indiana, Alabama, Kentucky, Texas, UCLA, BYU and Ole Miss filling out the top 10. Notre Dame was No. 11 in that version, followed by Ohio State, Tennessee, LSU, Texas Tech, Wake Forest, Houston, Missouri, Iowa, USC, South Carolina, Arizona, Oregon, Florida and Boise State.
However the committee sorts it out, Tuesday’s release should reveal plenty about how it sees the field right now - and which teams are gaining ground as the season enters its final stretch.
In Other News...
LSU Brings One Dangerous Edge Into Texas Clash Despite Clear Concerns
LSU comes into the Texas matchup with a profile that can make life miserable for any opponent. The Tigers have been productive enough on offense to rank near the top nationally in yards per game and third-down conversions, and their defense has a clear edge up front, leading the nation in sack percentage. For Texas, which heads to Baton Rouge fresh off a win over Missouri, that means the Longhorns have to be ready for a game that can turn quickly if they let LSU dictate the tempo.
Still, the Tigers are not without concerns. Their offense has had trouble finishing drives in the red zone and has not consistently established the run, while the defense has shown some vulnerability to giving up big plays. That mix makes LSU dangerous, but also gives Texas a path if it can stay efficient, avoid negative snaps and force the Tigers to play a cleaner game than they have sometimes managed. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Defense Is Starting To Look Like A Real Problem For Opponents
LSUs latest rout at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center was the kind of night that keeps building a defensive identity. The Tigers rolled past Louisiana Tech 90-50, extending a remarkable stretch that saw them win three straight by 40 points or more for the first time in program history. The pressure showed up everywhere, with LSU forcing 23 turnovers and turning those mistakes into 38 points while getting disruptive nights from Skyy Clark and Donovan Dent, who each finished with five steals.
Michael Ruzic led the way offensively with 17 points, and Mo Dioubate added 15 before fouling out, but the bigger takeaway for LSU is how quickly the defense is becoming the tone-setter. Opponents are having a hard time getting clean looks, and even when the Tigers are not at their sharpest on the offensive end, the pace and activity on defense are giving them room to control games in a way that feels increasingly sustainable. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Lands In The Middle Of A Weekend Fans Can't Ignore
Week 11 has a way of reshaping the conversation in college football, and LSU is right in the middle of it with Texas coming to Baton Rouge. The weekend slate is loaded around the Tigers, too, with Georgia heading to Missouri, Utah traveling to Arizona, Indiana hosting USC and Alabama playing in Nashville, giving fans plenty of reasons to keep one eye on the scoreboard beyond Death Valley.
For LSU, though, the focus is squarely on the matchup at home and the broader stage it sits on. The full schedule is spread across multiple networks and streaming platforms, so this is one of those Saturdays when timing matters as much as the games themselves. By the time the night settles in, the Tigers could find themselves part of the weekends biggest talking point. [Read more 🡒]