Washington Huskies Stay at #5 in College Football Playoff Rankings

The most recent College Football Playoff rankings were unveiled last night, and to no one’s surprise, the committee decided to keep spots 3 through 8 unchanged. This means that the Huskies remain in the 5th position overall and are just on the cusp of breaking into the top tier. The major change near the top was Georgia ascending to the #1 spot after a decisive victory over Ole Miss, overtaking Ohio State.

Washington leads the pack with 5 Pac-12 teams currently in the top-25, including Oregon at #6, Oregon State at #11, Arizona at #17, and Utah at #22. The Utes slipped 4 spots after their recent loss at Washington. Anticipate further movement next week as Washington faces Oregon State and Arizona takes on Utah. There’s a possibility that the winner of USC/UCLA might also secure a spot in the rankings, depending on other results.

It’s reasonable to argue that Washington deserves the 4th spot over Florida State based on their schedules. The Huskies have defeated 3 currently ranked teams (Oregon, Arizona, and Utah) while Florida State has only beaten LSU. The computer metrics slightly favor the Seminoles, but the margins are quite close. If Washington fails to move ahead of Florida State despite another potential victory next week, then that’s when logic goes out the window.

Washington’s destiny is in their hands. Winning all their upcoming games, including a second victory against Oregon, would secure their spot. Conversely, anything less might not be sufficient given the lack of upsets at the top. The key is to keep winning.

***

Here’s a look at the paths for the other teams with 0 or 1 losses (most recent SP+ rank in parentheses).

#1 Georgia: at Tennessee (16), at Georgia Tech (70)

–Will likely face Alabama (6) in the SEC title game

And so on for the other top-ranked teams…

Read more