College Football Playoff Rankings for Dec. 1 Released

By Kevin Kelley -

The College Football Playoff Rankings for Dec. 1 have been released by the Selection Committee, and the Clemson Tigers still occupy the top spot.

Clemson is followed by Alabama, Oklahoma, and Iowa, which make up the same top four as last week. Just outside the top four are Michigan State and Ohio State.

Three Group of Five teams are in the College Football Playoff Rankings this week. Houston in 19th, Temple is 22nd, and Navy is 23rd.

College Football Playoff Rankings (Dec. 1)

1. Clemson
2. Alabama
3. Oklahoma
4. Iowa
5. Michigan State
6. Ohio State
7. Stanford
8. Notre Dame
9. Florida State
10. North Carolina
11. TCU
12. Baylor
13. Ole Miss
14. Northwestern
15. Michigan
16. Oregon
17. Oklahoma State
18. Florida
19. Houston
20. USC
21. LSU
22. Temple
23. Navy
24. Utah
25. Tennessee

On Sunday, Dec. 6 at Noon ET, the College Football Playoff Selection Committee will announce the Selection Day bowl pairings and Playoff Semifinal pairings.

2015-16 Bowl Schedule

Comments (34)

So there is a small possibility that the BIG could get two teams in if Bama & Stanford lost.
I can not see Florida or North Carolina jumping into the top four if they win. So basically it comes down to Clemson, Bama & Oklahoma are in if Bama & Clemson win. Iowa & Mich St will be playing for the last spot if all goes well. So say Oklahoma is already in, Bama & Clemson win big over Gators who is not playing very well & not sure if Tar Heels can keep up with Clemson. Looks like the PAC-12 will be left out of the CFP this year, if Bama loses & Stanford wins they I can see Stanford taking the last spot & keeping an SEC team out. So much for SEC bias I guess.

How is Clemson #1 at 12-0 and Iowa is #4 at 12-0 behind Alabama? If it is strength of schedule then Clemson should not be #1. No SEC Bias? ‘Bama ought to be #5 or #6 or even #7. That their strength of schedule is ranked 5th is a load of crap and that is the only reason they are in the top 4 – bias, bias, bias.

Bama’s SOS is a load of crap is your opinion & not fact, they’re above Iowa in all of the SOS rankings & if that was the case then Bama should be one #1 due to being 5 in SOS which means there is no SEC bias since they are ranked #2. Not sure where Bama comes off being #5, #6 or #7 but another one of your opinions I guess.

fanboys claiming bias is always silly but if you were to make that claim based on these rankings it would be far more accurate to find a b10 bias than an SEC one.

@Day -, it’s all opinion, yours and mine – so are any of the rankings, CFP or SOS. SOS is “calculated” based on opponent records – there is a lot of subjective (i.e.opinon) variables in that calculation, including giving more weight to an SEC win or loss record, hence the SEC bias (IMO). Without that SOS of 5 for Alabama, they would not be #2. Say what you want about Iowa, but 12-0 in the Big 10 is quite an accomplishment – unless you have an SEC Bias that who they play are tougher…. Clemson’s SOS sucks too yet they are #1. Michigan State’s one loss was a fluke. Alabama lost with a significant margin AT HOME – no fluke. If Michigan State is currently at #5, then I don’t think it is a stretch to say Alabama should be #5, 6 or 7. Bu the way, I am not a Big 10, Big 12 or SEC fan – or any of their teams – just calling it like I see it.

Iowa cruised through the BIG without having to play Michigan, Michigan St, OSU or Penn St, how is that an accomplishment? Bama only lost by 6 points to Ole Miss which is not a “significant margin” after turning the ball over five times (not using as an excuse). Ole Miss was the better team. Even if Bama was (42) in SOS they still would of been #2, does not mean bias, means the committee sees how strong Bama is & knows they are deserve vent of it. Calling Michigan St loss a fluke after losing to Nebraska is a fluke, clearly Bama lost to a better team, unless you are going to call the SEC overrated as so many luv to do.

Alabama losing to Ole Miss was one of those games in which Bama is the better team (not by a vast amount) and you want to call it a fluke, but most people don’t realize OM would be in ATL had that freak blind toss on 4th-and-25 not occurred, but Bama has definitely made up for it and should be in the playoff if they take care of UF (which they should by about 48 points.) Stanford can’t be in nor shouldn’t be considered to be in the playoff.

@Day – What great wins does Alabama have? Their schedule seems pretty fluff too looking back on who they played and where those teams records look now (again unless you have a bias about the SEC teams being inherently better than everyone else in the country). Their only formidable foe was Ole Miss, and they lost that. I think they are a bit overrated and should at least be looking from the outside in at #5 or 6. If they were 12-0, I’d say they are in the top 4, but otherwise no, but it is what it is.

I think Michigan State beats Iowa and jumps to #3 and Oklahoma drops to #4 because of the lack of a Big 12 championship game (and committee spot preference – see below). So I’d like to see Alabama play Michigan State, And Clemson vs. OK. OK should win, and we will see if Alabama deserved to be #2. I think the committee is a little unsure about Clemson winning it all and would rather see a Alabama or Michigan State vs. Oklahoma instead of OK vs. Alabama in the the first round.

Johnboll, I think Bama beating every team in the west (minus Ole Miss) is an accomplishment, not fluff, plus Georgia in the east, at one point in time all the teams Bama beat in the SEC were ranked, not so much for Iowa but I guess that’s where the (SEC being overrated takes place). I never said the SEC was the best conference & this year shows fact but it is strong, I like to stick up for the SEC because so many luv to come on here & bash them, say how they are overrated, cowards, screaming SEC BIAS! Meanwhile there are 3 ACC & BIG teams in the top ten, if Florida played better then the SEC would have 2 but the Gators seem to be a good 10-2 team, that’s about it. I’m sure if Florida beats Bama there will be singing & dancing in the streets by all non SEC fans cause there will be no SEC teams in the playoffs. Its fine if you feel Bama should be #5 or #6 & (looking in) but their not, their #2 & will remain that till the playoffs.

Day,
Glad to see you’re coming around. However, SEC bias still exits.

Is Alabama worthy of the #2 ranking? They’ve had a tough schedule, but no great teams. They have a great running back and defense, but no quarterback/passing game. Their one loss was to a 9-3 Ole Miss team at home, who lost to Memphis.

Why is Ole Miss the highest ranked 3 loss team? They lost to a 9-3 ranked Memphis team, which is a non Power 5 team. This team is the 4th best team in the American (a Group of 5 conference). Yes, Ole Miss beat Alabama on the road, but what are their other good wins?

Do you really think Ole Miss is better than 9-3 Michigan or 10-2 Northwestern? Michigan’s losses were to Utah, Michigan State and Ohio State. Northwestern beat Stanford, Duke and Wisconsin, and they lost to Iowa and Michigan.

These are some questions to think about.

Maverick,
If your just going to nitpick that Ole Miss is in front of Michigan & Northwestern, I give up. Even if Bama wasn’t #2, they still would be in the playoffs, what does it really matter. I guess the questions would also bring up why is Oklahoma St 10-2 & behind Michigan/Northwestern/Oregon, the season is over, the best four teams got in, no SEC bias.

Not when someone points out that Ole MIss 9-3 is the highest three lose team plus questioning how Bama got to where they are at, no. Plus Coker for Bama passed for 2489 yds & ranks 49th in NCAA but of course Bama has no quarterback or passing game.

I think the B10 champ will jump OU to no3 when the last rankings come out on Sunday.

OU is off and B10 has 4vs5 so we shall see..

1) Clemson, 2) Iowa, 3) Oklahoma, 4) Alabama, 5) Michigan State, 6) Stanford, 7) Ohio State, 8) North Carolina, 9) Florida State, and 10) Notre Dame. Without question the winner of the Iowa – Michigan State game is in (a quarterfinal match-up), I believe the winner of the Clemson – North Carolina game is in as well (again a quarterfinal game), Oklahoma is in, it’s just a matter of what position, and finally if Alabama wins their in but if they lose it’s a matter of what else happens this weekend.

If Clemson loses vs North Carolina look 4 buckeye 2 make playoff should b Alabama vs OSU Okie Vs Msu- Iowa winner

College rankings in general are always subject to corruption based on ratings, favoritism, etc. The best method as far as fairness is a playoff system like the NFL has. Let the teams eliminate themselves from the picture rather than a committee deciding who plays and who doesn’t. The current college playoff system is a joke.

Rankings are subject to a lot of things, how many guys you lost, what was your recruiting class like, who do you return, whats your schedule look like..etc. I find rankings great for college football for many reasons, conversation, it sells magazines, great for vegas, fans luv it (well, most do). The rankings are not to far off this season & they have no control over injuries on a team. The college football is not suppose to be designed like the NFL, if everything was the same then there would be no fun in anything but of course people are going to complain like they did before the BCS, during the BCS & now after the BCS. They could of kept the BCS & got rid of the committed I guess, its ran the same, just by people now.

The primary factor in ranking teams for the CFP is the name on the front of the jersey. Take, for example, Oklahoma, who has a horribly bad loss on their resume to Texas. However, because the name “Oklahoma” appears on the front of their jerseys, we are all supposed to pretend that loss never happened.

Considering what the CFP committee did with TCU last year, dropping them from #3 to #6 in the final rankings, after they had just won a game 55-3… anything is possible.

TCU beat Iowa St 55-3, not sure if that really counts. OSU beat Wisconsin 59-0 in BIG Championship, much more impressive win.

@Day – LOL – You are all over the place… So the Ohio State win against a 10-2 Wisconsin team last year is “impressive” But this year Iowa at 12-0 in the same division, in your words: “…cruised through the BIG without having to play Michigan, Michigan St, OSU or Penn St, how is that an accomplishment?” Wisconsin didn’t play any of those teams last year either but somehow made the win much more impressive…

Johnboll, I was saying the OSU win 59-0 in the BIG Championship game was “much more impressive” then TCU win over Iowa St. That’s what got OSU in the playoffs. Yes, Wisconsin cruised through the BIG last year as well, would not be surprised if Michigan St lays the wood to the Hawkeyes. I take that back, Iowa did not cruise this year compared to what Wisconsin did last year, Iowa had many close calls.

Looks like my prediction of the top 4 was right on. We will see if the rest pans out. Should be good football and I am betting Oklahoma wins it all.

Yep, and thanks for being a @#$! and pointing that out in a thread that is almost a month old. You have made it clear that you are a triller and an !@#$%$! on top of that. Congratulations!

I get email notifications when there is a reply unlike you that waits with baited breath to reply to a post that is a month old just to “stick it” to me. You don’t have to call me names in your post as your actions speak louder than words. In regards to my “name calling”: As they say, “If the shoe fits, wear it”…

You get notifications but you call me a troller, you must just be waiting for replies then, enjoy the small wearing shoe.