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College Football Playoff 2020: Winners and losers in penultimate rankings

By John Buhler

College Football Playoff. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images)
College Football Playoff. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images) /
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The penultimate College Football Playoff rankings have been unveiled.

The College Football Playoff Selection Committee has us all set up for the final reveal next Sunday.

For the first time this season, we have a bit of a shakeup in the top six. With the Florida Gators losing in unthinkable fashion to the unranked LSU Tigers at home last Saturday, they are now on the outside looking in at No. 7. Taking their spot as the second team out is the two-loss Iowa State Cyclones, who are perceived as the best two-loss team in the country this season. Who gets in?

College Football Playoff rankings

  1. Alabama Crimson Tide
  2. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
  3. Clemson Tigers
  4. Ohio State Buckeyes
  5. Texas A&M Aggies
  6. Iowa State Cyclones
  7. Florida Gators
  8. Georgia Bulldogs
  9. Cincinnati Bearcats
  10. Oklahoma Sooners
  11. Indiana Hoosiers
  12. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
  13. USC Trojans
  14. Northwestern Wildcats
  15. North Carolina Tar Heels
  16. Iowa Hawkeyes
  17. BYU Cougars
  18. Miami Hurricanes
  19. Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns
  20. Texas Longhorns
  21. Oklahoma State Cowboys
  22. North Carolina State Wolfpack
  23. Tulsa Golden Hurricane
  24. San Jose State Spartans
  25. Colorado Buffaloes

Winner: Iowa State Cyclones

It is going to take a Big 12 Championship victory over the No. 10 Oklahoma Sooners at the very least for the Cyclones to make the four-team field. Again, they are seen as the best two-loss team in the nation. For Iowa State to get in, the Cyclones will need the Alabama Crimson Tide, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Northwestern Wildcats to win their conference title bouts, plus luck.

Loser: USC Trojans

Even though the USC Trojans are undefeated, the Selection Committee does not value them in the way it does with the Ohio State Buckeyes. USC is only at No. 13, so even a semi-illegitimate Pac-12 Championship game victory over the Pac-12 North runner-up Oregon Ducks will not move the needle. It will get the Trojans to the Fiesta Bowl, but that is about as good as it will get for them.

Winner: Florida Gators

Despite losing in most horrendous fashion, the Gators only drop one spot in the latest playoff rankings. As crazy as that sounds, it was a tad expected. The reason for this is the head-to-head victory over the Georgia Bulldogs, who came in at No. 8. With Georgia getting to 7-2 and surpassing the 8-0 Cincinnati Bearcats in the Committee’s eyes, Florida was not going to fall a ton.

Loser: Cincinnati Bearcats

It is perfectly clear no Group of 5 team will ever make the College Football Playoff under its current four-team construction. Though the Bearcats are undefeated at 8-0, Cincinnati has not played in a month. With every data point they do not have on their resume, it is another chance for the Selection Committee to dock them for being arguably the best team in the ACC and nothing more.

Winner: Coastal Carolina Chanticleers

Coming in at No. 12 is the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. While they are the second-best Group of 5 team behind Cincinnati, the Chants face the better team in their conference title bout. If Coastal Carolina beats the No. 19 Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns, they may surpass Cincinnati for the Group of 5’s New Year’s Six bowl, regardless of how the Bearcats do against the No. 23 Tulsa Golden Hurricane.

Loser: Miami Hurricanes

A few weeks ago, we were talking about the Miami Hurricanes having an outside chance of making the College Football Playoff. Now with a second ACC loss on the year, Miami is not even going to make it to a New Year’s Six bowl in all likelihood. Notre Dame and the Clemson Tigers absolutely will and very likely will the North Carolina Tar Heels take their spot in the Orange Bowl.

Winner: Ohio State Buckeyes

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as the Buckeyes do not even have to play six regular-season games to be one win away from a playoff berth. If they beat the No. 14 Northwestern Wildcats in the Big Ten Championship, the Buckeyes will get in as the No. 4, or quite possibly the No. 3 seed. This team has serious talent, but it is the least battle-tested team inside of this week’s top 10.

So how many teams can realistically make the playoff? Five, which would be teams No. 1 through No. 5. Teams like Iowa State, Oklahoma and even Florida have a narrow pathway to get in, but that requires a conference championship victory and a multi-tiered parlay of ridiculous chaos. What happens in the ACC Championship game will be the biggest indicator of what is to come Sunday.

Which teams have the best shot of making the College Football Playoff after these rankings?

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