Miami passes Clemson in College Football Playoff Rankings, Tigers No. 3

The latest College Football Playoff rankings are out, and the Clemson Tigers dropped to No. 3 after easily dispatching The Citadel 61-3 during a quiet week of college football. Miami jumped to No. 2 after defeating Virginia 44-28 on Saturday.

Committee Chairman Kirby Hocutt explained the decision for the switch. 

"As we said last week, the separation between 1-5 was very narrow. I would say this week, the same remains true. We talked about a Miami team that has shown progress over the past three weeks. They have really strengthened their resume in the last three weeks. The selection committee, as we talk about what we see on the field, we see characteristics of a championship caliber team with Miami. They got down 14 early against their opponent this week. They came back, they got down 14 points in the second half, and they came back to win in a convincing manner."

The selection committee continues to be impressed with Miami as they continue to build their undefeated record.

Hocutt said, "They have the ever slight margin ahead of No. 3 Clemson this week. Not a lot of separation, but they did just enough this week following two impressive games to earn that number two spot right over Clemson." 

He also talked about the committee taking heat for seemingly excusing Clemson's loss too much.

"When we talk about Clemson's loss to Syracuse, it's a team Miami beat. We look at Syracuse beating Clemson, that game was at Syracuse. Oklahoma's loss was in Norman. We take all of those things into consideration. We've talked plenty about the injury situation with the quarterback when Clemson came up short against Syracuse."

Hocutt went on to say that, "All of that is taken into account, as well as what's taken place this past weekend. I will just say that the resumes continue to be studied, they continue to change each and every week and the selection committee takes all of that into consideration."

The top four teams in the polls are #1 Alabama, #2 Miami, #3 Clemson, and #4 Oklahoma. 

Clemson is now 10-1, including a 7-1 mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Tigers boast wins over six teams with winning records.

In addition to Clemson's victory over #6 Auburn, the Tigers have a win at #19 NC State, and their win over Virginia Tech is once again a top 25 win after the Hokies reentered the rankings at 25.

Three of Clemson’s wins have come on the road against top 20 teams at the time. It is the first time Clemson has had three top 20 wins on the road since 1950. 

The College Football Playoff semifinals will be played at the Sugar Bowl and the Rose Bowl on January 1st. The National Championship will be held on Monday, January 8th at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.

Clemson has been in the top four of the CFB Playoff rankings 16 consecutive times, which is second only to Alabama who's been there 19 straight times.

Alabama, Clemson, and Ohio State are the only teams that have appeared in all 22 sets of the CFB Playoff rankings.

College Football Playoff Top 25

1. Alabama (11-0)

2. Miami (10-0)

3. Clemson (10-1)

4. Oklahoma (10-1)

5. Wisconsin (11-0)

6. Auburn (9-2)

7. Georgia (10-1)

8. Notre Dame (9-2) 

9. Ohio State (9-2) 

10. Penn State (9-2)

11.  Southern Cal (10-2)

12.  TCU (9-2)

13. Washington State (9-2)

14.  Mississippi State (8-3)

15.  UCF (10-0)

16.  Michigan State (8-3)

17.  Washington (9-2)

18.  LSU (8-3)

19.  Oklahoma State (8-3)

20.  Memphis (9-1)

21.  Stanford (8-3)

22.  Northwestern (8-3)

23. Boise State (9-2)

24.  South Carolina (8-3)

25.  Virginia Tech (8-3)