College Football Playoff rankings: Loss costs Iowa semifinal spot
Brian Spurlock / USA TODAY Sports
The final edition of the the College Football Playoff rankings were released Sunday, and bowl matchups are beginning to take shape.
The CFP semifinalists were announced earlier, and No. 1 Clemson will take on Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl, while No. 2 Alabama will face No. 3 Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl.
Stanford's Pac-12 championship earned it the No. 5 spot and a berth in the Rose Bowl against sixth-ranked Iowa.
No. 7 Ohio State will square off with No. 8 Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl to round out an impressive top eight.
No new teams entered the top 25 this week, but Baylor and USC each dropped five spots to No. 17 and No. 25 respectively, while Navy, Ole Miss, Oregon, and Michigan are among the teams who climbed up the rankings.
| Rank | Team | Record | Previous Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clemson | 13-0 | 1 |
| 2 | Alabama | 12-1 | 2 |
| 3 | Michigan State | 12-1 | 5 |
| 4 | Oklahoma | 11-1 | 3 |
| 5 | Stanford | 11-2 | 7 |
| 6 | Iowa | 12-1 | 4 |
| 7 | Ohio State | 11-1 | 6 |
| 8 | Notre Dame | 10-2 | 8 |
| 9 | Florida State | 10-2 | 9 |
| 10 | North Carolina | 11-2 | 10 |
| 11 | TCU | 10-2 | 11 |
| 12 | Ole Miss | 9-3 | 13 |
| 13 | Northwestern | 10-2 | 14 |
| 14 | Michigan | 9-3 | 15 |
| 15 | Oregon | 9-3 | 16 |
| 16 | Oklahoma State | 10-2 | 17 |
| 17 | Baylor | 9-3 | 12 |
| 18 | Houston | 12-1 | 19 |
| 19 | Florida | 10-3 | 18 |
| 20 | LSU | 8-3 | 21 |
| 21 | Navy | 9-2 | 23 |
| 22 | Utah | 9-3 | 24 |
| 23 | Tennessee | 8-4 | 25 |
| 24 | Temple | 10-3 | 22 |
| 25 | USC | 8-5 | 20 |