Penultimate College Football rankings released before conference championship weekend
Georgia remains top dog, but crazy weekend shakes up next five seeds
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Georgia Bulldogs still hold the top spot in the College Football Playoff rankings, but after a wild Rivalry Week, the rest of the top four looks a bit different.
With Michigan's 45-23 win over Ohio State in Columbus (No. 3 vs. No. 2, respectively, at the time), the Wolverines moved up a spot before they take on Purdue in the Big Ten Championship Game on Saturday.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The College Football Playoff logo is shown on the field at AT&T Stadium before an NCAA college football game in Arlington, Texas, Jan. 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Roger Steinman, File)
The Buckeyes' loss dropped them down to No. 5, and they are now on the outside looking in.
TCU moved up a spot and is now the third-ranked team after they were able to take care of business with a 62-14 win over Iowa State ahead of the Big 12 title game against No. 13 Kansas State.
The big move up, though, came from USC, who after taking down then-No. 15 Notre Dame, combined with then-No. 5 LSU's devastating loss to a then-4-7 Texas A&M team, the Trojans are now at the four-spot - the Tigers fell all the way to 14.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}LSU will still take on Georgia in the SEC Championship Game, but since they're now ranked in the teens, there's basically nothing they can do. Had they not been upset, that matchup would have had huge implications for just about everyone in the top-six.
Although not guaranteed, considering Ohio State and No. 6 Alabama are off this weekend and don't control their own destiny, it's almost safe to say that if each top-four team wins their conference championship game this weekend (USC faces No. 11 Utah in the Pac-12 title game), those will be the four squads that will compete in the College Football Playoff.
An end zone pylon displays the National Championship logo during the Alabama Crimson Tide versus the Georgia Bulldogs in the College Football Playoff National Championship, on January 10, 2022, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Here's how the rest of the Top 25 shakes out, along with their records and ranking from last week:
No. 7: Tennessee (10-2, No. 10)
No. 8: Penn State (10-2, No. 11)
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}No. 9: Clemson (10-2, No. 8)
No. 10: Kansas State (9-3, No. 12)
No. 11: Utah (9-3, No. 14)
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}No. 12: Washington (10-2, No. 13)
No. 13: Florida State (9-3, No. 16)
No. 14: LSU (9-3, No. 5)
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}No. 15: Oregon State (9-3, No. 21)
No. 16: Oregon (9-3, No. 9)
No. 17: UCLA (9-3, No. 18)
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Donovan Edwards #7 of the Michigan Wolverines evades a tackle during the second quarter of a game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium on November 26, 2022 in Columbus, Ohio. (Ben Jackson/Getty Images)
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No. 18: Tulane 10-2, No. 19)
No. 19: South Carolina (8-4, unranked)
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}No. 20: Texas (8-4, No. 23)
No. 21: Notre Dame (8-4, No. 15)
No. 22: UCF (9-3, same)
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}No. 23: North Carolina (9-3, No. 17)
No. 24: Mississippi State (8-4, unranked)
No. 25: N.C. State (8-4, unranked)