CFB Playoff Rankings: Clemson still No. 3, Questions mount about No. 4 Ohio State
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The College Football Playoff Committee released the third set of rankings for the 2020 season, and things are still the same at the top as Clemson held at No. 3 while conversations about No. 4 Ohio State continue to fester. The Buckeyes have only played five games this season, and their matchup with Michigan was canceled earlier today.
The Alabama Crimson Tide remained No. 1 and No. 2 Notre Dame reminded the lone teams in front of the Clemson Tigers.
Once again, two SEC schools, No. 5 Texas A&M and No. 6 Florida, are just outside the College Football Playoff.
“I want you to take a look at the number of wins,” Rece Davis said. “Everyone knows that Ohio State looks good-- Notre Dame has TWICE as many wins as Ohio State-- Clemson and Alabama have four more wins, that’s a month's worth of wins more than Ohio State.”
Kirk Herbstreit laid out a scenario that we mentioned on Clemson Sports Talk’s two-hour radio show earlier today as well.
“What happens in Charlotte and what happens in Atlanta is going to dictate where Ohio State is. If Alabama beats Florida, Ohio State would be in,” Herbstreit noted. “If Florida beats Alabama and Clemson beats Notre Dame, Ohio State will be left out. It will be Clemson, Notre Dame, Florida, and Alabama-- Ohio State is out.”
Clemson has now 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 also been ranked in the Top 4 in 32 of the last 33 CFP Playoff releases.
Clemson’s 32 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 31 weeks ranked in the CFB Playoff poll, dating back to 2014. However, the Crimson Tide has been ranked No. 1 in the CFB Playoff rankings more than every other college football team combined with 21 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 | 10 | 4 | 32 |
| Alabama |
🏆🏆 |
21 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 31 |
| Ohio State |
🏆 |
3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 16 |
| Notre Dame |
|
0 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 13 |
| 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 | #1 Alabama | #2 Notre Dame | #3 Clemson | #4 Ohio State |
| 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 (9-0) vs. #4 Ohio State (5-0)
#2 Notre Dame (10-0) vs #3 Clemson (9-1)
Outside looking in:
No. 5 - Texas A&M (7-1)
No. 6 - Florida (8-1)
No. 7 - Iowa State (8-2)
No. 8 - Cincinnati (8-0)
No. 9 - Georgia (6-2)
No. 10 - Miami (8-1)
No. 11 - Oklahoma (7-2)
No. 12 - Indiana (6-1)
No. 13 - Coastal Carolina (10-0)
No. 14 - Northwestern (5-1)
No. 15 - USC (4-0)
No. 16 - Iowa (5-2)
No. 17 - North Carolina (7-3)
No. 18 - BYU (9-1)
No. 19 - Louisiana (9-1)
No. 20 - Texas (6-3)
No. 21 - Colorado (4 -0)
No. 22 - Oklahoma (6-3)
No. 23 - NC State (8-3)
No. 24 - Tulsa (6-1)
No. 25 - Missouri (5-3)