Georgia soared to the No. 1 spot in the second edition of this season’s College Football Playoff rankings after defeating last week’s No. 1, Tennessee.
The Bulldogs were followed by Ohio State, Michigan and TCU in the top four of the new rankings, released Tuesday night. Those are the only four remaining unbeaten teams in FBS college football.
Georgia soundly beat visiting Tennessee 27-13 last Saturday. The Bulldogs, the defending national champions, were No. 3 in the initial CFP rankings. They are 9-0 (6-0 Southeastern Conference) and 27-1 in their past 28 games dating to 2020.
Ohio State (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten) claimed the second spot in the rankings for the second straight week, while Michigan (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten) moved up two spots as the teams remain on a collision course for their annual Big Game on Nov. 26 in Columbus, Ohio.
TCU, also 9-0, benefited from losses by Clemson and Alabama, which were both ranked ahead of the Horned Frogs last week, to move up three spots.
“They’ve got six wins over teams that are .500 or better,” NC State athletic director Boo Corrigan, the new CFP chairman, said in an ESPN interview. “They’re averaging 43 points a game. As you know, we value wins. And they continue to find a way to win and not give up those points in the second half, and it really was impactful to the committee.”
Tennessee fell to No. 5. Oregon is No. 6 after its eighth straight win following a Week 1 blowout loss to Georgia. And LSU moved up three spots to No. 7 after the Tigers beat Alabama 32-31 in an overtime classic.
“We’re looking at the overall body of work, where it’s not about one game, it’s about what have they done throughout the entire season,” Corrigan said.
Southern California, Alabama and Clemson completed the top 10. Clemson was shut out for three quarters en route to a 35-14 road loss to Notre Dame. Unranked in the initial poll, the Fighting Irish appeared at No. 20 Tuesday.
The full rankings are below:
1. Georgia
2. Ohio State
3. Michigan
4. TCU
5. Tennessee
6. Oregon
7. LSU
8. Southern California
9. Alabama
10. Clemson
11. Ole Miss
12. UCLA
13. Utah
14. Penn State
15. North Carolina
16. NC State
17. Tulane
18. Texas
19. Kansas State
20. Notre Dame
21. Illinois
22. UCF
23. Florida State
24. Kentucky
25. Washington
–Field Level Media
