With conference championships set for this weekend, the rankings could change again. But here’s where college football teams stand going into the weekend.<\/b>
\nAlabama, Clemson and Notre Dame remain atop the College Football Playoff rankings, but a new team has emerged in the playoff picture with one weekend to go.
The top three spots didn\u2019t change in this week\u2019s announcement of the CFP rankings. However, after Michigan\u2019s blow out loss at Ohio State and solid games from Georgia and Oklahoma, coupled with two more Top 10 upsets, the rankings were jostled around.
On Tuesday night, the CFP committee released the penultimate rankings for 2018, with Georgia moving into the fourth spot. The Bulldogs play No. 1 Alabama this Saturday (3:30 p.m. EST on CBS) in the SEC Championship game.
Alabama has the nation\u2019s second-longest winning streak. Central Florida, which has won 24 straight games dating back to the start of the 2017 season, leads the country
The final playoff rankings and bowl pairings will be announced this Sunday. Here are the newest rankings from Tuesday night.
Rob Mullens, the CFP chairman who answers questions directly from ESPN\u2019s college football panel after every playoff ranking is revealed, said the decision for the fifth-place spot came down to Oklahoma\u2019s prowess on offense, no matter how many points they surrender. The Sooners got the nod over Ohio State.
\u00ab\u00a0When you look at it, Oklahoma\u2019s body of work is still impressive,\u201d Mullens said. \u201cI understand the defensive deficiencies are still there, and we talked about that. But they really have a historic offense.
Mullen said at the end of the day, Oklahoma scores enough points to win games and that \u201cit\u2019s all about results.\u201d
The playoff scenario will work itself out this weekend with conference championships scheduled for Saturday and an undefeated Notre Dame sitting on standby.
UCF, on the other hand, would need a lot of help cracking the top four, especially with quarterback McKenzie Milton out for the season after suffering a nasty leg injury during last Saturday\u2019s win over rival South Florida. Even with Milton avaliable, the Knights would be tested this Saturday in the American Athletic Conference championship against the Memphis Tigers. Memphis is the only team that has challenged the Knights in two years, including a 62-55 win in double overtime in last year\u2019s AAC title game.
UCF came from behind thie season to narrowly defeat Memphis, 31-30, on Oct. 13.<\/p>\n