No doubt: College Football Playoff Rankings hold firm, Top 10 unchanged
The third release of the College Football Playoff Rankings in 2018 became the first release ever to feature no changes in the top 10.
Committee chairman Rob Mullens was asked about the gap between No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Clemson.
"There is a lot of conversations around both of those teams. When you look at them at this point they’re complete teams. They are very strong on offense and very strong on defense. As you look at the last couple of weeks, Alabama with two consecutive shutouts, which impressed the committee. When you look at Clemson and how their defense played on the road at Boston College, you know the only score was a special teams score.”
Pressed to further define the gap, Mullens said, “They are both top-10 offense, top-10 defense, but at this point, everyone has Alabama one and Clemson two."
Clemson is 10-0 and enters as nearly four-touchdown favorites this weekend against Duke. The Tigers are also projected as having the easiest route to the national championship game.
The Tigers boast wins over No. 12 Syracuse and No. 20 Boston College.
Clemson has been in the top four for 20 releases of the playoff rankings, second only to Alabama's 23 releases. Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State are the only three teams to appear in all 27 sets of rankings released by the committee in the playoff era.
2018
Week 1: #1 Alabama, #2 Clemson, #3 LSU, #4 Notre Dame
Week 2: #1 Alabama, #2 Clemson, #3 Notre Dame, #4 Michigan
Week 3: #1 Alabama, #2 Clemson, #3 Notre Dame, #4 Michigan
2017
Week 1: #1 Georgia, #2 Alabama, #3 Notre Dame, #4 Clemson
Week 2: #1 Georgia, #2 Alabama, #3 Notre Dame, #4 Clemson
Week 3: #1 Alabama, #2 Clemson, #3 Miami, #4 Oklahoma
Week 4: #1 Alabama, #2 Miami, #3 Clemson, #4 Oklahoma
Week 5: #1 Clemson, #2 Auburn, #3 Oklahoma, #4 Wisconsin
Selection Day: #1 Clemson, #2 Oklahoma, #3 Georgia, #4 Alabama
2016
Week 1: #1 Alabama, #2 Clemson, #3 Michigan, #4 Texas A&M
Week 2:#1 Alabama, #2 Clemson, #3 Michigan, #4 Washington
Week 3: #1 Alabama, #2 Ohio State, #3 Michigan, #4 Clemson
Week 4: #1 Alabama, #2 Ohio State, #3 Michigan, #4 Clemson
Selection Day: #1 Alabama, #2 Ohio State, #3 Clemson, #4 Washington
2015
Week 1: #1 Clemson, #2 LSU, #3 Ohio State, #4 Alabama
Week 2: #1 Clemson, #2 Alabama, #3 Ohio State, #4 Notre Dame
Week 3: #1 Clemson, #2 Alabama, #3 Ohio State, #4 Notre Dame
Week 4: #1 Clemson, #2 Alabama, #3 Oklahoma, #4 Iowa
Week 5: #1 Clemson, #2 Alabama, #3 Oklahoma, #4 Iowa
Selection Day: #1 Clemson, #2 Alabama, #3 Michigan State, #4 Oklahoma
2014
Week 1: #1 Mississippi State, #2 Florida State, #3 Auburn, #4 Ole Miss
Week 2: #1 Mississippi State, #2 Florida State, #3 Auburn, #4 Oregon
Week 3: #1 Mississippi State, #2 Oregon, #3 Florida State, #4 TCU
Week 4: #1 Alabama, #2 Oregon, #3 Florida State, #4 Mississippi State
Week 5: #1 Alabama, #2 Oregon, #3 Florida State, #4 Mississippi State
Week 6: #1 Alabama, #2 Oregon, #3 TCU, #4 Florida State
Selection Day: #1 Alabama, #2 Oregon, #3 Florida State, #4 Ohio State
College Football Playoff Rankings
#1 Alabama (10-0) vs #4 Michigan (9-1)
#2 Clemson (10-0) vs #3 Notre Dame (10-0)
Outside looking in:
5. Georgia (9-1)
6. Oklahoma (9-1)
7. LSU (8-2)
8. Washington State (9-1)
9. West Virginia (8-1)
10. Ohio State (9-1)
11. UCF (9-0)
12. Syracuse (8-2)
13. Florida (7-3)
14. Penn State (7-3)
15. Texas (7-3)
16. Iowa State (6-3)
17. Kentucky (7-3)
18. Washington (7-3)
19. Utah (7-3)
20. Boston College (7-3)
21. Mississippi State (6-4)
22. Northwestern (6-4)
23. Utah State (9-1)
24. Cincinnati (9-1)
25. Boise State (8-2)