Despite coaching change, Ole Miss up to 6th in CFP rankings - ESPN

The College Football Playoff selection committee didn't penalize Ole Miss because of former coach Lane Kiffin's stunning departure to LSU in its penultimate rankings Tuesday.

In fact, the committee moved the Rebels up one spot to sixth in the rankings after their 38-19 victory at rival Mississippi State in last week's Egg Bowl.

Ole Miss officials were concerned that the selection committee might ding them after Kiffin departed for their SEC rival on Sunday, potentially putting their chances of hosting a CFP first-round game later this month in jeopardy.

«Obviously, our team is still intact,» Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter told ESPN on Tuesday. «Our players are fired up and ready to go. We've got a great staff that's ready to roll throughout the playoff run.»

Unbeaten Ohio State and Indiana remain the top two teams, followed by No. 3 Georgia, No. 4 Texas Tech and No. 5 Oregon. The Bulldogs, Red Raiders and Ducks each moved up one spot after previously unbeaten Texas A&M lost 27-17 at Texas last week.

Texas A&M fell four spots after suffering its first loss of the season, one spot behind Ole Miss, and was followed by Oklahoma, Alabama and Notre Dame to round out the top 10. BYU was 11th and Miami was 12th.

JMU, North Texas, Iowa and Houston make an appearance in this week's CFP Top 25