College Football Playoff Rankings Prediction: Oregon Ducks Lead, Georgia and Miami Drop

Tuesday night marks the second release of the College Football Playoff rankings, and the Oregon Ducks should expect to stay No. 1. Behind Oregon, however, the CFP Selection Committee has some decisions to make.

The No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes should stay put, but the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs and No. 4 Miami Hurricanes both suffered upset losses on the road. While neither team is effectively eliminated from the 12-team playoff after losing, both Georgia and Miami fell out of the top-10 in the AP Top-25 Poll on Sunday. How far will they drop in the CFP rankings?

If the No. 5 Texas Longhorns and No. 6 Penn State Nittany Lions replace Georgia and Miami, then the Big Ten Conference will have three out of the top four teams. However, the final top-25 will look much different because the first four rankings are reserved for the four highest-ranked conference champions at the end of the season.

Despite the Big Ten’s presence at the top of the rankings, the CFP Selection Committee placed No. 7 Tennessee above No. 8 Indiana in the first edition of the top-25. This decision implies that the Hoosiers’ undefeated record against below-average opponents is less valuable than the Volunteers’ 8-1 record with a win over No. 11 Alabama.

No. 9 BYU defeated Utah with a last-minute field goal. The game’s officiating has sparked controversy, but the Cougars are now 9-0 with wins over No. 13 SMU and No. 19 Kansas State. Is BYU’s resume better than Indiana’s?

The argument is potentially irrelevant because the Hoosiers face Ohio State on Saturday. It will be Indiana coach Curt Cignetti’s toughest test of the season, but it’s an opportunity to prove the critics wrong. A win over the Buckeyes all-but guarantees the Hoosiers an appearance in the Big Ten Championship Game.

With three weeks left in the regular season, the rankings are bound to change. As it currently stands, the highest seeds would belong to Oregon (Big Ten), Texas (SEC), BYU (Big 12), and Miami (ACC) in the playoff bracket. However, the rankings will not reflect the automatic bids in the top-four until after the conference champions have been decided.

College Football Playoff rankings prediction:

1 Oregon

2 Ohio State

3 Texas

4 Penn State

5 Tennessee

6 BYU

7 Indiana

8 Notre Dame

9 Alabama

10 Ole Miss

11 Georgia

12 Miami

This article will be updated once the College Football Playoff rankings are released.

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