CFP Rankings: Georgia claims top spot over Ohio State

Georgia topped Ohio State as the No. 1 team in the latest College Football Playoff rankings on Tuesday.

The Buckeyes, now at No. 2, are followed by Michigan and Florida State. Washington and Oregon round out the top six.

The first four teams posted convincing wins over the weekend. The Bulldogs put on a show to earn a 52-17 victory over Ole Miss in tight end Brock Bowers' return from injury on Saturday, while the Buckeyes blew out Michigan State 38-3 thanks to three Marvin Harrison Jr. touchdowns. The Wolverines topped Penn State 24-15 in a Big Ten clash as coach Jim Harbaugh served the first of a three-game suspension. Finally, Florida State took down Miami 27-20.

CFP chairman Boo Corrigan explained why the committee ranked Georgia over Ohio State.

"The win last week over Missouri, the win over Mississippi ... the resume, everything combined," Corrigan said of the Bulldogs' 2023 season, according to Bryan Fischer of Fox Sports.

Washington and Oregon are coming off victories over Utah and USC, respectively. There was a strong case for the Huskies - owners of the fifth-most productive offense in the country - to enter the top four, but the Seminoles remain at No. 4. Corrigan praised the Seminoles' win over the unraked Hurricanes on Tuesday.

"Don't undersell the Miami-Florida State rivalry," he said, according to Matt Baker of the Tampa Bay Times.

According to the committee, Oregon remains college football's sixth-best team as the highest-ranked one-loss school. Washington edged Oregon in October.

Texas claimed a three-point victory over TCU on the weekend, but that was enough for the seventh-ranked Longhorns to stay ahead of Alabama despite the Crimson Tide's 49-21 win versus Kentucky. Texas defeated Alabama in its second game of the season.

"The head-to-head does matter," Corrigan said Tuesday while seemingly explaining the Texas-Alabama situation, according to Blake Toppmeyer of USA Today.

Missouri joined the top 10 in one of the most significant moves of the latest rankings. The Tigers easily defeated Tennessee 36-7 to bounce back from their loss to Georgia two weeks ago.

After a 22-0 win over Rutgers, Iowa was the biggest riser in Tuesday's rankings, jumping six spots to stay at No. 16. Kansas and Oklahoma State fell nine and eight spots, respectively. Tulane is currently the only Group of 5 member ranked.