After another big weekend of surprises in Rivalry Week and the transition to Championship Weekend, it’s time for the College Football Playoff Selection Committee to announce its fifth top 25 picks.
As we head into our first taste of postseason action, the committee still has many important decisions to make, not just who to include, but which team will be seeded where.
Ohio State lost a stunning win to Michigan, while Miami was upset on the road by Syracuse, putting a damper on the Big Ten and ACC title games, respectively, and leaving the committee with some key decisions that will impact how the playoffs go will look like.
Where does this leave things as we begin the next rankings selection process and approach Selection Sunday?
Here’s your guide to watching the latest College Football Playoff rankings shows, plus everything you need to know about the selection process.
ESPN will provide an overview of what the College Football Playoff rankings looked like a week ago and make some predictions about how the poll and rankings will change after Rivalry Week.
The network then presents the official rankings straight from the committee room, followed by the latest prediction of what the standings will look like, including first-round byes and first-round games on campus.
ESPN analysts will discuss what the committee got right and wrong and how things could change again after championship weekend when the conferences play their respective title games.
The biggest questions surrounding this week’s rankings will include now two-time losing Ohio State’s ranking after its surprising loss to Michigan and where former ACC title contender Miami will finish.
There’s also suddenly a big debate surrounding SEC contenders like Alabama and South Carolina when their respective resumes are compared — including the Crimson Tide’s narrow head-to-head win over the Gamecocks this year — and whether either would deserve a spot in the final dozen after the loss in Miami.
Boise State and UNLV will face off in the Mountain West Championship Game, and analysts expect the winner of that matchup to effectively secure a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Always east
Tuesday, November 5th, 7 p.m.: The first College Football Playoff rankings
Tue, Nov. 12 at 8:30 p.m.: The second ranking of the College Football Playoff
Tuesday, November 19th, 7 p.m.: The third College Football Playoff rankings
Tuesday, November 26th, 8 p.m.: The fourth College Football Playoff rankings
Tuesday, December 3rd at 7 p.m
Selection day: Sun, December 8th, 12 p.m
The new 12-team College Football Playoff features the top four conference champions, all of whom automatically receive seeds 1-4.
The top four teams receive a bye in the first round and automatically advance to the quarterfinals.
The other eight ranked teams fight for the spots between numbers 5 and 12 in the table and play their games on the home field of the higher-ranked team.
The committee selects the top 12 teams in the country using a process designed to differentiate teams from each other by taking into account:
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