A weekend that featured six ranked-on-ranked matchups will lead to a major shake-up in Tuesday's second edition of the CFP rankings.
The committee hasn't traditionally punished teams too harshly for losing ranked matchups, so there may not be many changes in terms of the members of the top 12. However, there will be plenty of volatility in terms of placement.
We aren't trying to project the CFP committee's rankings, but rather to show what we think those rankings should be.
Top 12
1. Georgia - The Bulldogs have done enough to dispel the odor from a stunning home loss to Auburn. A 35-point blowout of No. 10 Ole Miss is the second-largest road win over a top-10 opponent in the CFP era.
2. Utah - A goal-line interception secured a Holy War rivalry win over BYU and moves the unbeaten Utes into the No. 2 slot. Are the Utes the second-best team in the nation? Probably not. But with zero losses and two wins over top-20 CFP teams, this is where they belong for now.
3. Alabama - The Tide justified the committee's belief in them with an impressive double-digit win at LSU on Saturday. Tennessee fans may not like it, but Alabama's overall resume makes it a top-three team.
4. Notre Dame - Although the Fighting Irish deserve their flowers for beating the No. 1 team in the nation, they were touchdown favorites over Miami due to Malachi Toney's injury. A move from No. 11 to No. 8 would basically ensure Notre Dame is in the playoff, barring a late-season disaster.
5. Miami - The Hurricanes have to drop from No. 1 following their loss at Notre Dame, but there's no shame in a close loss without Malachi Toney. If he's back for the playoff, the Hurricanes are a serious title threat.
6. Texas - The Longhorns notched a fourth top-25 win in another strong November showing for Arch Manning. Texas likely bought itself some breathing room with the win over Missouri but will need a strong effort on the road at LSU next weekend.
7. Tennessee - No team in the country wants to play the Volunteers' defense at the moment. There's an argument to be had about ranking Tennessee behind Alabama even though the Vols won the head-to-head matchup earlier this year, but let's save that for the end of the regular season.
8. Indiana - The Hoosiers somehow ended up big losers without even playing this weekend. Indiana's four best wins this season were at Nebraska, at Michigan, and home versus Northwestern and Minnesota. All four teams lost. In fact, every team Indiana has faced in Big Ten action this year suffered defeat. The Hoosiers' loss to Ohio State also looks significantly worse since the Buckeyes' implosion.
9. UCLA - Although the Bruins have been winning ugly lately, their back-to-back 75-yard touchdown passes on consecutive offensive plays versus Minnesota were things of beauty. That said, unbeaten UCLA has only played one ranked opponent - which isn't the Bruins' fault but still has to be taken into consideration.
10. BYU - The Cougars picked a great time to lose their second game of the season, since volatility at the top keeps them in the CFP field ... for now. However, BYU needs plenty of help just to make the Big 12 title game and isn't likely to make the final field as an at-large. Consider the Cougars here for a good time, not a long time.
11. Kentucky - The committee overrated Kentucky in the initial ranking with the No. 6 slot. The Wildcats have now lost to Alabama and Tennessee by a combined 79-23 scoreline, indicating they're clearly a step below the SEC's top teams.
12. *Texas Tech - The thing about a 12-team playoff ranking is that it has to include 12 teams every week. Going by the eye test, the Red Raiders have underwhelmed this season, but their resume boasts two top-25 wins over Arizona and Houston.
*Boise State would take the 12-seed in the actual playoff over Texas Tech as the highest-rated Group of 6 program
First-round byes: (1) Georgia, (2) Utah, (3) Alabama, (4) Notre Dame
First-round matchups:
No. 12 Boise State vs. No. 5 Miami
No. 11 Kentucky vs. No. 6 Texas
No. 10 BYU vs. No. 7 Tennessee
No. 9 UCLA vs. No. 8 Indiana
