Florida State Jumps to No. 4, Ohio State Falls to No. 6 in Penultimate CFP rankings
With conference championships right around the corner, the College Football Playoff Committee gives its final insight of where teams stand, heading into Selection Sunday on December 3. In this week’s poll, Georgia keeps the top spot, followed by Michigan, Washington and Florida State. Ohio State dropped to No. 6 and joins No. 5 Oregon as the first two teams out.
RANK
SCHOOL
RECORD
PREVIOUS
1
Georgia
12-0
1
2
Michigan
12-0
3
3
Washington
12-0
4
4
Florida State
12-0
5
5
Oregon
11-1
6
6
Ohio State
11-1
2
7
Texas
11-1
7
8
Alabama
11-1
8
9
Missouri
10-2
9
10
Penn State
10-2
11
…
The case for Florida State
Can the committee refuse an undefeated ACC champion? Of course not. But if Florida State – down its first-string quarterback – loses to Louisville in Charlotte this weekend, its playoff contention will be all but squashed.
FSU’s victory over its in-state rival this past week, though, demonstrated how the Seminole defense could truly step up to the plate. Up only three points (17-14) in the fourth, FSU didn’t let Florida QB Max Brown move the chains once in the quarter, sacking him four times (17 yards lost) to completely relinquish the hope of a comeback. Though no Heisman candidate, Tate Rodemaker is holding up his own in the pocket, completing an average of 52% of his passes in his two games as the starting QB. With a wide receiver core of Jaheim Bell, Johnny Wilson and Keon Coleman, plus the speed of Trey Benson, this offense still presents a well-rounded case to be a threat against 10-2 Louisville.
This year’s streak is reminiscent of FSU football 10 years ago when Heisman winner Jameis Winston led the undefeated Seminoles to their third program national title. Bandaging the wounds left from the Willie Taggart era, and Jimbo Fischer’s abrupt exit, Mike Norvell worked through two losing seasons to return the Seminoles to their previous glory. With other one-loss teams – namely Texas and Alabama – chomping at the bit to overtake FSU’s spot, the Noles have exactly 60 minutes this weekend to control their CFP destiny.
Buckeyes bumped
After a tight 24-30 loss to Michigan this past week, the Buckeyes fell four spots this week. The Pac-12 championship could make way for Ohio State to move up a spot, but if Florida State, Texas, and even Alabama win any of their respective conference championships, the Buckeyes will be put on the back burner in the CFP race, as they’re not as battle-tested as some of these SEC one-loss teams.