Rece Davis reveals the top six teams in Week 2 of the College Football Playoff rankings.
With their win over LSU on Saturday, the Alabama Crimson Tide moved up to No. 2 in this week’s College Football Playoff rankings.
The Crimson Tide are behind No. 1 Clemson but ahead of Ohio State, which remained third. Notre Dame ended up the big beneficiary of LSU’s loss as the Fighting Irish moved from No. 5 up to the top four.
Notre Dame is followed by undefeated Iowa, which jumped from ninth to fifth. The Hawkeyes weren’t the only team making a leap in the top 10, Stanford also moved up four spots going from No. 11 to No. 7.
Between the upwardly mobile duo is Baylor, which held steady at No. 6. The Bears are joined in the top 10 by Big 12 rival Oklahoma State, which jumped six spots to be ranked eighth this week by the committee. Those two schools are on a collision course for a Nov. 21 showdown which should go a long way to determine which, if any, Big 12 school will have a chance to play for the national title.
LSU fell back to No. 9 after its 30-16 road loss to SEC rival Alabama. Rounding out the top 10 is Utah.
Clemson remains atop the College Football Playoff rankings with Notre Dame replacing LSU in the top four. Full Rankings
| 1. Clemson | 6. Baylor |
| 2. Alabama | 7. Stanford |
| 3. Ohio State | 8. Oklahoma State |
| 4. Notre Dame | 9. LSU |
| 5. Iowa | 10. Utah |
A tight win over Vanderbilt cost Florida one spot as it fell back to No. 11. Oklahoma climbed from No. 15 to No. 12 after scoring over 50 points for the fourth straight week. The Sooners could make an even bigger move in the rankings with a win this week over Baylor.
In-state rivals Michigan State and Michigan, authors of one of the more improbable finishes this season, come in at Nos. 13 and 14 respectively. The Big Ten foes are moving in different directions, however, as the Spartans fell six notches while the Wolverines gained three spots.
After a 20-point loss to Oklahoma State, TCU took a tumble from No. 8 to No. 15. The Horned Frogs are followed by Florida State, Mississippi State, Northwestern and UCLA.
Making its debut in this year’s College Football Playoff rankings is Navy, an upset winner over Memphis. After their loss to the Midshipmen, the Tigers settled in at No. 21. They are followed by Temple, North Carolina, Houston and Wisconsin.
