Oklahoma State Moves To No. 5 in College Football Playoff Rankings
Oklahoma State moved to No. 5 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, remaining the highest-ranked Big 12 team entering Saturday’s Big 12 Championship Game.
The Cowboys, now one spot out from making the Playoff field, moved up on the basis of a couple of factors. First, the Cowboys (11-1, 8-1 in Big 12) won its Bedlam showdown with Oklahoma, 37-33, on Saturday. That gave the Cowboys another win over a ranked opponent.
Next, Michigan defeated Ohio State, 42-27, on Saturday, a win that boosted Michigan into the Top 4 of the College Football Playoff rankings at No. 2, while the Buckeyes fell out of the Top 4 to No. 7.
Georgia, Michigan, Alabama and Cincinnati represented the Top 4 this week. Future Big 12 members in the Top 25 included BYU at No. 12 and Houston at No. 21.
Baylor came in at No. 9 in the Rankings. The Bears won their final regular-season game, defeating Texas Tech, 27-24. The Bears may be without quarterback Gerry Bohanon for the title game.
The Oklahoma Sooners — which lost head coach Lincoln Riley to USC on Sunday — was the only other Big 12 team in the Rankings, dropping to No. 14.
Houston and Cincinnati face each other in the American Athletic Conference Championship Game on Saturday in Cincinnati.
There are just a handful of games left to determine the Playoff field, with the Cowboys preparing to face Baylor (10-2, 7-2 in Big 12) in the Big 12 Championship at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Based on the current rankings, Oklahoma State needs to win on Saturday, and probably get some help, to have a chance to reach the College Football Playoff for the first time.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
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College Football Playoff Top 25
Released on Nov. 30, 2021
Big 12 Teams in Bold
1. Georgia
2. Michigan
3. Alabama
4. Cincinnati
5. Oklahoma State
6. Notre Dame
7. Ohio State
8. Ole Miss
9. Baylor
10. Oregon
11. Michigan State
12. BYU
13. Iowa
14. Oklahoma
15. Pitt
16. Wake Forest
17. Utah
18. NC State
19. San Diego State
20. Clemson
21. Houston
22. Arkansas
23. Kentucky
24. Louisiana
25. Texas A&M
