Second 2016 College Football Playoff Rankings Shakes Up Top 10

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Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @HogManInLA

The College Football Playoff Selection Committee released their second of six weeks of rankings on Tuesday night. With only Texas A&M and Nebraska losing out of the Top 10 in the initial poll, the stakes were raised in Week 2.

The big move in the rankings was the Aggies fall out of playoff contention at No. 4 down to No. 8 after a shocking 35-28 road loss to Mississippi State. A&M also lost starting quarterback Trevor Knight for the season against the Bulldogs with a right throwing shoulder injury. The Aggies fall was the Washington Huskies gain. The Huskies moved from No. 5 to No. 4 placing them into the playoff if the season were to end today.

Ohio State and Louisville remain in the hunt as one-loss teams. Ohio State will get a chance to dethrone Michigan on Nov. 26 for a possible playoff berth if both teams remain unbeaten until then. Louisville may have the easiest ride into a possible playoff berth with Wake Forest, Houston, and Kentucky left remaining on the schedule. The Cardinals are a game behind Clemson in the ACC Atlantic Division with the Tigers only having Pitt and Wake Forest left to play in-conference. In theory, Louisville could avoid playing in the ACC Championship Game but still earn a berth into the playoff. Same for Michigan should the Wolverines lose to Ohio State.

Although behind Wisconsin and Texas A&M in the two-loss column, Auburn at No. 9 could have the biggest upward mobility left. The Tigers have SEC games left against Georgia and Alabama. Knocking of Alabama would go a long way to making a claim for the Tigers in the playoff, especially if they win the SEC Championship Game. Where it could get interesting – if Alabama and Michigan spend the majority of the season atop the polls but lose on the final weekend of the regular season missing the conference championship games, how will the committee respond?

The other two-loss team that could make the most noise is Washington State. The Cougars play Cal this week and then face Top 25 teams in Colorado, the Pac-12 South leader, and No. 4 Washington, the Pac-12 North leader. Washington State, if USC or Arizona State does not do it first, could kick the Huskies out of the playoff with an Apple Cup win on Nov. 25. The game is in Pullman this year.

A three-loss team, No. 20 USC, can close out the season strong with wins over Washington, UCLA, and Notre Dame. Colorado holds a one-game lead over USC and Utah entering the weekend. USC holds the tie breaker with the Buffaloes winning 21-17 on Oct. 8. A Pac-12 Championship Game berth could still be had.

Oklahoma’s window to impress the playoff committee is shrinking. Baylor lost again taking a potential Top 25 victory off their resume for Saturday’s game. Games left against West Virginia and Oklahoma State will have to be big wins, enough to make up ground from No. 11 to be the Big 12 representative in the playoffs.

The biggest fall from grace was then- No. 11 Florida in Week 1 to unranked in Week 2. The overreaction to a 31-10 road loss to Arkansas all-but pushes the Gators chances out of the picture, even with games left against South Carolina, LSU, and Florida State. Arkansas entered the poll for the first time coming in at No. 25. Baylor was the other exodus from the rankings.

The AP differs in the Top 10 from the committee slotting Louisville at No. 5 instead of Ohio State, flip-flopping the two. The Aggies are ranked No. 8 by the committee but No. 10 by the AP. Oklahoma is favored by the writers slotted at No. 9 to the committee’s No. 11 spot.

Top Games This Week

Baylor at No. 11 Oklahoma

No. 10 Penn State at Indiana

Mississippi State at No. 1 Alabama

Pitt at No. 2 Clemson

No. 5 Ohio State at Maryland

Texas Tech at No. 13 Oklahoma State

Illinois at No. 7 Wisconsin

No. 9 Auburn at Georgia

Wake Forest at No. 6 Louisville

No. 20 USC at No. 4 Washington

No. 12 Colorado at Arizona

Cal at No. 23 Washington State

First College Football Playoff Committee Rankings of 2016

  1. Alabama
  2. Clemson
  3. Michigan
  4. Washington
  5. Ohio State
  6. Louisville
  7. Wisconsin
  8. Texas A&M
  9. Auburn
  10. Penn State
  11. Oklahoma
  12. Colorado
  13. Oklahoma State
  14. Virginia Tech
  15. Utah
  16. West Virginia
  17. North Carolina
  18. Florida State
  19. Nebraska
  20. USC
  21. Western Michigan
  22. Boise State
  23. Washington State
  24. LSU
  25. Arkansas

Click the link for current AP Rankings on RNG.

Photo credit: NBCsports.com; Washington running back No. 9 Myles Gaskin vs. Cal.

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