Clemson maintained its five-week hold on the No. 1 spot in the College Football Playoff selection committee top 25 ranking Tuesday, and the Big Ten is holding down the No. 4, 5 and 6 spots this week.
The top four remained the same from last week, with Alabama at No. 2, Oklahoma at No. 3 and Iowa at No. 4. The Hawkeyes' Big Ten championship opponent Michigan State is No. 5, and Ohio State is No. 6.
Oklahoma is the lone Power Five conference champion already crowned, and theSooners appear set for one of the four Playoff seeds one season after their conference, the Big 12, was shut out. Selection committee chair Jeff Long said Oklahoma's status as a conference champion has not yet been considered by the committee or applied to its ranking.
Oklahoma faces the prospect of playing a three-hour drive from its home in Norman, Okla., if it were to land in the Cotton Bowl. Long said the committee would not alter the ranking of the top four in order to adjust whether teams play in the Cotton or Orange Bowls. Preference is only given to the team seeded No. 1. "The No. 1 team will determine where we go," he said.
Long also said the committee deliberated extensively this week about whether to swap Clemson at Alabama at the top, but the fact that Alabama has not played a team in the committee's top 10 kept the Tigers at No. 1.
Clemson's ACC championship opponent, North Carolina, moved up four spots but only to No. 10, which means it would have to make a huge jump to crack the top four.
Long acknowledged the Tar Heels' improving credentials and 10-game win streak, but made clear that their season-opening loss to what turned out to be a 3-9 South Carolina team is weighing them down. When asked whether the committee has discussed the relative strengths of schedule of North Carolina and Ohio State (their SOS is almost identical in the Sagarin ratings) in making their rankings, Long said the committee does not consider the Sagarin ratings and doesn't know how they are calculated, and added that "In the multiple number of metrics we look at, they're not close. It's clear in Ohio State's favor in the strength of schedule."
And another conference championship finalist, SEC East winner Florida, is the lowest-ranked two-loss Power Five team at No. 18. That does not bode well for the SEC landing a spot in the Playoff should the Gators upset Alabama on Saturday night in Atlanta.
Tennessee, at No. 25, joined No. 20 Southern California as the second four-loss team to be ranked by the committee this season.
The committee will reveal the four-team Playoff field with its final ranking at noon ET Sunday.
