The second edition of the College Football Playoff rankings were released Tuesday night, and Alabama fell from No. 3 to No. 5 following Saturday’s 46-41 loss to then-No. 2 LSU on Saturday. As a reward for the win, LSU leapfrogged Ohio State for the No. 1 ranking, giving the Tigers a trifecta of No. 1 rankings across all the major polls.
Minnesota leaped nine spots from No. 17 to No. 8 thanks to their 31-26 win over then-No. 4 Penn State. While the Gophers greatly improved in the eyes of the committee, they remain one spot behind where they are ranked in the AP poll.
The Nittany Lions plummeted to No. 9, ahead of Oklahoma, who dropped a spot after a 42-41 near-collapse against Iowa State. Losses by Alabama and Penn State pushed Clemson from No. 5 to No. 3. Georgia followed the Tigers at No. 4.
After not appearing in last week’s rankings, Texas jumped to No. 19 after a win over Kansas State, who dropped from No. 16 to No. 24. Cincinnati remained the highest-rated Group of 5 team at No. 17, one spot ahead of Memphis. The pair will meet in Memphis on Nov. 29, and then potentially again a week later.
Appalachian State joined the rankings for the first time, checking in at No. 25. The Mountaineers replaced SMU, who dropped out after a 59-51 win over East Carolina.
No team remained in the same spot they found themselves in during last week’s initial rankings.
The full rankings:
1. LSU
2. Ohio State
3. Clemson
4. Georgia
5. Alabama
6. Oregon
7. Utah
8. Minnesota
9. Penn State
10. Oklahoma
11. Florida
12. Auburn
13. Baylor
14. Wisconsin
15. Michigan
16. Notre Dame
17. Cincinnati
18. Memphis
19. Texas
20. Iowa
21. Boise State
22. Oklahoma State
23. Navy
24. Kansas State
25. Appalachian State