No Change Among Top Four, CFP Committee Still Liking Bulldogs, Buckeyes

There has been no change in the top four of the latest College Football Playoff rankings, as the four undefeated teams of Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan, and TCU all remained in that order once again.

Tennessee’s blowout loss at South Carolina saw them plummet from No. 5 to No. 10. The entire rankings can be found below, but first you can check out what CFP Chair Boo Corrigan had to say on his weekly teleconference following the latest rankings release.

Corrigan explains why the committee likes LSU over teams like Clemson and USC, and why TCU remains behind Ohio State and Michigan.

Boo Corrigan Teleconference

• Reporter “trying to get my head around LSU being ahead of Clemson.” How much do they consider common opponents when they consider those two teams? Does the committee still see that NC State as a quality win? Boo Corrigan: “We’re looking for growth during the course of the season.” LSU has continued to play well and improve. With Clemson, they are 6-1 against teams over .500, and that matters. But the Notre Dame loss in South Bend was a large part of the reason for the difference.
• How much conversation or debate is there about TCU over Michigan or even Ohio State? “There’s conversation every week.” The first thing they do is look at one through four and make sure they’re looking at the previous week’s games and looking at offense and defense. They look at the balance of the teams. TCU is 8-0 against teams over .500. Their ability to come back in games is noted, but Ohio State and Michigan have been ahead in games so they haven’t had to come back in games.
• What were the discussions about keeping UCF in the rankings? They have two good wins over Tulane and Cincinnati. The loss to Navy is noted, but Navy controls the ball and it’s a different kind of game.
• If this comes down to a decision between a one-loss B1G team and a one-loss Clemson team, how is it that you have ranked Louisville over Big Ten teams like Illinois and Iowa? Louisville has won five of their last six. They have a win over UCF. But there is no talk of conference in anything they’re doing.
• How do you value Clemson’s resume over all? Or conference championships vs. non-champions. Conference championships are something they always talk about. They aren’t going to project anything, however. Clemson has a great defensive line. When you watch teams, you’re looking for something that stands out. The committee views them as the No. 8 team.
• What is separating LSU and USC? “We talked a lot about it.” It wasn’t a single conversation because there are reasons for both teams. The wins over Alabama and Ole Miss were stronger than the wins over UCLA and Oregon State. They still have concerns over the USC defense.
• What do you want to see from USC’s defense and what do you think of Clemson’s offense? When you see them play in a 48-45 game, you’re looking for a stronger performance from the defense. They would like to see some dominance. Will Shipley is a really good player at Clemson, but the offense has had its ups and downs.
• Have any conversations come up about the SEC teams playing lower-level teams this past week? “We’re really looking at the whole body of work.” They look at the entire resume instead of one single data point.
• Reddit asks how much weight the committee gives to Hendon Hooker’s injury? It was 49-31 when he left the game. His fumble led to a short field and South Carolina went up 56-31 the next time Tennessee had the ball. It wasn’t something that drove them to a different conclusion.

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