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College Sports

Week 4 CFP Rankings Generate Agonizing Debate

Week 4
Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables, at right, and Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian talk before the Red River Showdown college football game between the University of Oklahoma (OU) and Texas at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022.

On November 26, the College Football Playoff Committee released their Week 4 playoff rankings for college football. The Week 4 CFP Rankings were released and discussed on ESPN after being formulated by the selection committee, which is comprised of coaches, athletic directors, analysts, and television personalities. The Week 4 CFP Rankings were much discussed by analysts. The committee passed their judgment from a hotel conference room in Grapevine, Texas.

Week 4 CFP Rankings

Oregon maintained its top spot in Week 4 of the CFP ranking. They control their destiny and if they win out, including in the Big Ten Championship game, they will get a coveted first-round bye in the CFP. Ohio State Football had a promising start to the 2024 season and got a big win over Indiana in what was essentially an elimination game. Now if they beat their rivals and probably win a rematch against Oregon, who is ranked number one, in the Big Ten Championship game, they will get a first-round bye. This is the same boat Oregon is in.

Texas was ranked third by the committee. They were hurt somewhat by Ohio State’s big win. Penn State was ranked fourth. They stayed at that spot. Notre Dame went up one spot to No. 5. It may hurt them that they do not have a conference championship game to play, but they play a good schedule. Miami is ranked No. 6. They are a very good football team that rose two spots in this ranking.

Georgia rose three spots to number seven in the week 4 CFP rankings. They have two losses. Tennessee climbed three spots to number eight in the college football ranking. They have two losses but are at a spot in the ranking where they are safe. SMU rose four spots in the ranking to No. 9. They only have one loss.

Further Rankings Breakdown

Indiana lost big to Ohio State and fell five spots in the rankings. They are ranked No. 10 and will probably make the college football playoff. Boise State is at number eleven, up one spot. They are in pretty good shape to make the CFP if they win the Mountain West Conference Championship.

Clemson rose six spots in the week 4 CFP ranking. They have only two losses but lack quality wins. They are currently the last team in the 12-team field.  They are the first team out right now. Alabama is down six spots to 13 in the college football ranking after losing badly to Oklahoma on Saturday. They now have three losses, in a theme for the vaunted Southeastern Conference.

Ole Miss is down in the Week 4 CFP rankings to No. 14 following a loss to Florida. They now have three losses. BYU is ranked 19 after a four OT loss to Arizona State. However, if they win, they are still in the mix for the Big 12 Conference Championship. After a loss to Auburn, Texas A&M is ranked No. 20 and fell five spots, but they still control their fate. Colorado lost in regulation to Kansas and is down nine spots to No. 25.

What May Happen

As we analyze the week 4 CFP Rankings we note there are several likely important games left to play. Most notably, the conference championship games, which by giving the four highest-ranked conference champions byes, the college football section committee has decided they want to make conference championship games important.

Conclusion

There are, needless to say, many changes to come based on the outcomes of the games yet to be played. Foremost among these games are the Conference Championship Games. The committee wanted to make those important, so here you go. Fans are correct to wonder if the current, endless (seemingly) speculation is good. It is interesting and harmless as long as fans realize there are changes in the college football rankings still to come.