College Football Playoff Rankings Released 11/30/2021: Georgia Still No. 1
The College Football Playoff committee released its next-to-last rankings for the 2021 season, and Georgia remains the top dog leading the pack. Following conference championships this weekend, the committee will release its final rankings at noon Sunday. At that point, the playoff will be set and teams will know where they'll play bowl games.
In no surprise Tuesday night, Georgia is still the No. 1 team. The Bulldogs will play the Southeastern Conference (SEC) championship this Saturday against Alabama, which is No. 3 in the latest rankings.
Michigan vaulted to No. 2 after its convincing win last Saturday over Ohio State, which fell from the second spot to No. 7. Michigan will play No. 13 Iowa for the Big Ten championship this Saturday.
Cincinnati remains in the playoff mix as the Bearcats are No. 4, just ahead of Oklahoma State at No. 5. Cincinnati will play No. 21 Houston for the American Athletic Conference (AAC) title this weekend while Oklahoma State will face No. 9 Baylor for the Big 12 championship.
Here are the rankings released Tuesday night:
- Georgia
- Michigan
- Alabama
- Cincinnati
- Oklahoma State
- Notre Dame
- Ohio State
- Ole Miss
- Baylor
- Oregon
- Michigan State
- BYU
- Iowa
- Oklahoma
- Pittsburgh
- Wake Forest
- Utah
- NC State
- San Diego State
- Clemson
- Houston
- Arkansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Texas A&M
The College Football Playoff matches the No. 1 ranked team vs. No. 4, and No. 2 vs. No. 3 in semifinal games that rotate annually among six major bowls – the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, Fiesta Bowl, Peach Bowl, Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl and Rose Bowl. This year's semifinals are scheduled for Friday, December 31, 2021, at the Cotton Bowl and Orange Bowl.
If the playoffs began with these rankings, the semifinals would likely be this:
No. 1 Georgia vs No. 4 Cincinnati (Orange Bowl)
No. 2 Michigan vs No. 3 Alabama (Cotton Bowl)
The College Football Playoff National Championship will be Monday, January 10, 2022, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.
This is a developing story.
