Georgia No. 1 in latest CFP rankings, Washington, Oregon first 2 out: Where this leaves Buckeyes

By Nicole Auerbach, Seth Emerson, Austin Meek and Cameron Teague Robinson

Georgia ranked No. 1 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings on Tuesday. Here’s what you need to know:

• No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Michigan and No. 4 Florida State round out the top four in the rankings.
• No. 5 Washington and No. 6 Oregon were the first two teams left out of playoff contention.
• The top four teams are all 10-0, with Michigan and Ohio State squaring off in a Big Ten showdown on Nov. 25.

Evaluating the committee’s decisions

The committee made the right call in sliding Georgia up to the No. 1 spot now that the Dawgs have two of the best wins of any contender (over Missouri and Ole Miss). The only qualm I have about the top six is that Washington remains behind Florida State — despite a stronger resume that includes a win over No. 6 Oregon. I’m surprised that hasn’t changed in any iteration of the rankings so far this season, especially this week as we see the selection committee make an adjustment at No. 1 for a similar reason. — Nicole Auerbach, senior CFB writer

Why Georgia is No. 1

As jaded as Georgia’s fans and program have become about these rankings, having been through this experience long enough, this feels important. First off, it’s a good reward for how Georgia has played lately. More importantly, it’s setting the Bulldogs up to survive a loss down the stretch.

Enough committee members clearly value what Kirby Smart’s team has done on the field, including a schedule that looks better than it did at the start of the season. That’ll make it harder for Georgia to free-fall out of the top four if it does lose, either this weekend at Tennessee or in the SEC championship against Alabama. (A loss at unranked Georgia Tech in between would be harder to take.) Much will still depend on what happens elsewhere, but Georgia is now in a stronger position than it was two weeks ago. — Seth Emerson, Georgia beat writer

Surprising Ohio State dropped?

This was what I expected to happen. Georgia deserved to jump Ohio State after the blowout win over Ole Miss, but again this ranking doesn’t mean much for the Buckeyes. Ohio State still has one of the best resumes in the country, but the matchup in Ann Arbor on Nov. 25 is going to determine whether the Buckeyes or Michigan get into the College Football Playoff. Fortunately for Ohio State it seems to be playing its best football of the season right now, even despite being jumped in the rankings by Georgia.

Everything is in front of Ohio State. Beat Minnesota on Saturday and then The Game. Those are the most important things for the Buckeyes right now, the rankings just mean Ohio State controls its own destiny. — Cameron Teague Robinson, Ohio State beat writer

Michigan still has a chance at No. 1

The “Michigan hasn’t played anybody” argument was finally put to rest after the Wolverines beat Penn State, the No. 12 team in this week’s rankings. That 24-15 victory wasn’t enough to move the Wolverines ahead of Ohio State or Georgia, but kept them firmly entrenched in the top four. After waiting a long time for their first test, Michigan got a big one, playing a talented Penn State team on the road the day after Jim Harbaugh was suspended. They stayed unbeaten and will have a case to be No. 1 if they win their next two games against Maryland and Ohio State. — Austin Meek, Michigan beat writer

Required reading

(Photo: Brett Davis / USA Today)