Top Four Unchanged in College Football Playoff Rankings
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The College Football Playoff Committee released the second set of rankings for the 2020 season a few minutes ago and Clemson held firm at No. 3.
Alabama remained No. 1 and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish stayed in front of the Tigers.
No. 4 Ohio State, who have still played just four games, remained ranked over No. 5 Texas A&M and No. 6 Florida for the final spot in the College Football Playoff.
Kirk Herbstreit brought up a theory that we presented after the Buckeyes had their game against Maryland scratched due to COVID-19 several weeks ago, that the Michigan Wolverines could keep their rivals out of the Big Ten Championship simply by not playing.
“I still think Michigan waves the white flag and potentially avoids playing Ohio State next week,” Herbstreit said. “Is that fair that Michigan could opt-out of that game and keep Ohio State out of six games to qualify for the Big Ten Championship?”
“If you can’t beat them then try to keep them out of the playoff some other way,” David Pollack responded.
Herbstreit later clarified that he’s spoken with coaches around the country and opting out is something he believes teams are now doing to avoid being embarrassed, not as much because of COVID-19, but the toll it has had on depleting rosters.
Clemson has been ranked in the Top 4 all but once since the first week of rankings back in 2015. The only week they were left out was Week 1 last season. The Tigers have now been ranked in the Top 4 in 31 of the last 32 CFP Playoff releases.
Clemson’s 31 rankings in the Playoff Poll are tops all-time, making them the most prolific program in the CFB Playoff Era's history with five consecutive trips to the playoff under their belt along with winning two national titles in that time.
Alabama is second with 30 weeks ranked in the CFB Playoff poll, dating back to 2014. However, the Crimson Tide have been ranked No. 1 in the CFB Playoff rankings more than every other team in college football combined with 20 weeks at the top.
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 bowl games – the Goodyear Cotton Bowl, PlayStation Fiesta Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Capital One Orange Bowl, Allstate Sugar Bowl, and Rose Bowl Game.
This season's Playoff Semifinals will take place Friday, January 1, 2021, at the Rose Bowl Game and the Allstate Sugar Bowl. The College Football Playoff National Championship will be Monday, January 11, 2021, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
| CFB Playoff Era | National Titles | No. 1 | No. 2 | No. 3 | No. 4 | Total Weeks Ranked |
| Clemson |
🏆🏆 |
8 | 10 | 9 | 4 | 31 |
| Alabama |
🏆🏆 |
20 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 30 |
| Ohio State |
🏆 |
3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 15 |
| Notre Dame |
|
0 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 12 |
| Oklahoma |
|
0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 9 |
| LSU | 🏆 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| Michigan |
|
0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 7 |
| Florida State |
|
0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 |
| Georgia | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 | |
| Oregon | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 6 | |
| Mississippi State | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | |
| Auburn | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | |
| Washington | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | |
| Iowa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| TCU | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Miami | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| Ole Miss | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Michigan State | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Penn State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Texas A&M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Wisconsin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| ALL-TIME COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF APPEARANCES | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Total Appearances |
Overall Wins |
Overall Losses |
Pct. | Playoff Semifinals |
National Championship Game |
| Alabama | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0.666 | 4-1 | 2-2 |
| Clemson | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0.666 | 4-1 | 2-2 |
| Ohio State | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0.500 | 1-2 | 1-0 |
| Oklahoma | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0.000 | 0-4 | 0-0 |
| LSU | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 1-0 | 1-0 |
| Oregon | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0.500 | 1-0 | 0-1 |
| Georgia | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0.500 | 1-0 | 0-1 |
| Notre Dame | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 0-1 | 0-0 |
| Florida State | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 0-1 | 0-0 |
| Michigan State | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 0-1 | 0-0 |
| Washington | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 0-1 | 0-0 |
2020
|
Week 1 |
#1 Alabama | #2 Notre Dame | #3 Clemson | #4 Ohio State |
| Week 2 | #1 Alabama | #2 Notre Dame | #3 Clemson | #4 Ohio State |
| Week 3 | ||||
| Week 4 | ||||
| Week 5 | ||||
| Playoff | ||||
| Semifinals | ||||
| Championship | ||||
| 🏆 | ||||
2019
|
Week 1 |
#1 Ohio State |
#2 LSU | #3 Alabama |
#4 Penn State |
| Week 2 | #1 LSU | #2 Ohio State | #3 Clemson | #4 Georgia |
| Week 3 | #1 LSU | #2 Ohio State | #3 Clemson | #4 Georgia |
| Week 4 | #1 Ohio State | #2 LSU | #3 Clemson | #4 Georgia |
| Week 5 | #1 Ohio State | #2 LSU | #3 Clemson | #4 Georgia |
|
Playoff |
#1 LSU |
#2 Ohio State |
#3 Clemson |
No. 4 Oklahoma |
| Semifinals | No. 1 LSU 63, No. 4 Oklahoma 28 |
No. 3 Clemson 29, No. 2 Ohio State 23 |
||
| Championship | No. 1 LSU 42, No. 3 Clemson 25 |
|||
| 🏆 | LSU Tigers (15-0) | |||
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 |
| Week 4 |
#1 Alabama |
#2 Clemson | #3 Notre Dame |
#4 Michigan |
| Week 5 |
#1 Alabama |
#2 Clemson | #3 Notre Dame |
#4 Georgia |
|
Playoff |
#1 Alabama |
#2 Clemson |
#3 Notre Dame |
#4 Oklahoma |
| Semifinals | No. 1 Alabama 45, No. 4 Oklahoma 34 |
No. 2 Clemson 30, No. 3 Notre Dame 3 |
||
| Championship | No. 2 Clemson 44, No. 1 Alabama 16 |
|||
| 🏆 | Clemson Tigers (15-0) | |||
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 |
|
Playoff |
#1 Clemson |
#2 Oklahoma |
#3 Georgia |
#4 Alabama |
| Semifinals | No. 4 Alabama 24, No. 1 Clemson 6 |
No. 3 Georgia 54, No. 2 Oklahoma 48 (2OT) |
||
| Championship | No. 4 Alabama 26, No. 3 Georgia 23 (OT) |
|||
| 🏆 | Alabama Crimson Tide (13-1) | |||
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 |
| Week 5 |
#1 Alabama |
#2 Ohio State | #3 Clemson |
#4 Washington |
|
Playoff |
#1 Alabama |
#2 Clemson |
#3 Ohio State |
#4 Washington |
| Semifinals | No. 1 Alabama 24, No. 4 Washington 7 |
No. 2 Clemson 31, No. 3 Ohio State 0 |
||
| Championship | No. 2 Clemson 35, No. 1 Alabama 31 |
|||
| 🏆 | Clemson Tigers (14-1) | |||
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 |
|
Playoff |
#1 Clemson |
#2 Alabama |
#3 Michigan State |
#4 Oklahoma |
| Semifinals | No. 1 Clemson 37 No. 4 Oklahoma 17 |
No. 2 Alabama 38, No. 3 Michigan State 0 |
||
| Championship | No. 2 Alabama 45, No. 1 Clemson 40 |
|||
| 🏆 | Alabama Crimson Tide (14-1) | |||
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 |
|
Playoff |
#1 Alabama |
#2 Oregon |
#3 Florida State |
#4 Ohio State |
| Semifinals | No. 4 Ohio State 42, No. 1 Alabama 35 |
No. 2 Oregon 59, No. 3 Florida State 20 |
||
| Championship | No. 4 Ohio State 42, No. 2 Oregon 20 |
|||
| 🏆 | Ohio State Buckeyes (14-1) | |||
If the College Football Playoff started today
#1 Alabama (8-0) vs #4 Ohio State (4-0)
#2 Notre Dame (9-0) vs #3 Clemson (8-1)
Outside looking in:
No. 5 - Texas A&M (6-1)
No. 6 - Florida (7-1)
No. 7 - Cincinnati (8-0)
No. 8 - Georgia (6-2)
No. 9 - Iowa State (7-2)
No. 10 - Miami (7-1)
No. 11 - Oklahoma (6-2)
No. 12 - Indiana (5-1)
No. 13 - BYU (9-0)
No. 14 - Northwestern - (5-1)
No. 15 - Oklahoma State (6-2)
No. 16 - Wisconsin (2-1)
No. 17 - North Carolina (6-3)
No. 18 - Coastal Carolina (9-0)
No. 19 - Iowa (4-2)
No. 20 - USC (3-0)
No. 21 - Marshall (7-0)
No. 22 - Washington (3-0)
No. 23 - Oregon (3-1)
No. 24 - Tulsa (5-1)
No. 25 - UL-Lafayette (8-1)