Oklahoma Climbs Again in CFP Rankings
Oklahoma climbed three spots to No. 10 in Tuesday' night's College Football Playoff rankings, keeping alive their faint CFP hopes going into this week's season finale.
This week's rankings were revealed on ESPN.
Oklahoma State at No. 7 and Baylor at No. 8 also landed in the CFP Top 10, giving the Big 12 Conference three teams in the top 10.
The Sooners moved up from No. 13 last week following a loss at Baylor. This week's move up was powered by Saturday's 28-21 victory over Iowa State in Norman.
OU finishes the regular season this week at Oklahoma State, a 6:30 p.m. kickoff that could decide the Cowboys' opponent in next week's Big 12 Championship Game in Arlington, TX. Both Bedlam teams are 10-1.
OSU has already clinched its spot in the Big 12 title game — its first. If OU wins, the Sooners are also in and have a clear path to their seventh straight Big 12 crown.
If Baylor loses earlier in the day to Texas Tech, OU can still get in even if they lose to the Cowboys because Baylor would have three conference losses while OU would have two.
Georgia again came in ranked No. 1, Ohio State climbed two spots to No. 2, Alabama dropped one spot to No. 3, and Cincinnati moved up to No. 4 — the first time a Group of 5 team has landed in a top four. Michigan is No. 5, and Notre Dame is No. 6.
The fourth and final spot in the playoff could eventually come down to a beauty contest between the undefeated Bearcats and a one-loss Big 12 champion.
"That (Cincinnati) win at Notre Dame continues to look better," selection committee chairman Gary Barta said, "and this past week, the win they had against SMU, SMU came in 8-2 ... Cincinnati at 4, the committee liked them. We don't really compare them to the Big 12."
This story will be updated.
