Alabama remained No. 1 in the third edition of the College Football Playoff rankings on Tuesday night. But the question was never about the Tide, 51-3 winners over Mississippi State. The intrigue centered around where No. 2 Clemson, No. 3 Michigan and No. 4 Washington would fall after all three lost on Saturday -- the first time teams ranked Nos. 2, 3 and 4 lost on the same day since Oct. 19, 1985.
The result? Michigan and Clemson remained in the top four -- Michigan remained stagnant at No. 3, while Clemson fell to No. 4 -- while Washington dropped all the way to No. 6. Ohio State moved up to No. 2, while Louisville sits logjammed behind Clemson at No. 5.
Colorado inched into the top 10 ahead of this week’s showdown with No. 21 Washington State. Wisconsin, Penn State and Oklahoma sit ahead of the surprise Buffs among two-loss teams.
In an admission of last week’s mistake, LSU leaped eight spots after pummeling Arkansas, while Auburn dropped six spots to No. 15. USC zoomed past both, moving past one-loss West Virginia to No. 13.
In other significant news, Boise State nudged past Western Michigan as the highest ranked Group of 5 team. The Broncos, however, would not be in line for the Cotton Bowl berth without help from Wyoming in their own division.
Florida moved back into this week’s rankings after a one-week timeout, while Stanford made its first appearance of 2016. Texas A&M remains in the rankings by a fingernail after losing to both Mississippi schools in the past two weeks.
The full rankings:
1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Michigan
4. Clemson
5. Louisville
6. Washington
7. Wisconsin
8. Penn State
9. Oklahoma
10. Colorado
11. Oklahoma State
12. Utah
13. USC
14. West Virginia
15. Auburn
16. LSU
17. Florida State
18. Nebraska
19. Tennessee
20. Boise State
21. Western Michigan
22. Washington State
23. Florida
24. Stanford
25. Texas A&M