Alabama's black (hoodie) magic continued.
What else can explain the Tide's wild, playoff-saving, SEC-title-game-clinching, penalty-laden win against rival Auburn on Saturday night?
While bubble teams such as Miami and Texas were hoping for chaos, 11 of the committee's top 12 teams won during Rivalry Week, leaving Texas A&M the lone team to drop in this week's projection.
And that's it.
With the exception of teams that will play for their respective conference championship games, the résumés are complete. Though there likely will be some shuffling after the conference championship games, the fifth and penultimate ranking Tuesday night will be the best indicator all season of which teams should feel comfortable heading into Selection Day — and which might need some help.
Here's a prediction of what the committee might do in its fifth ranking Tuesday night.
Jump to:
Ranking | Bracket
Why they could be here: This is where the selection committee has had the Buckeyes in each of its first four rankings, and beating No. 15 Michigan will further cement their place at the top. It was only Ohio State's second win against a CFP top-25 opponent, along with the season-opening win against Texas, but the committee has been wowed by Ohio State's talent and consistent dominance.
Why they could be lower: It wouldn't make sense for the committee to drop the Buckeyes after beating a ranked rival on the road when Indiana defeated a 2-10 Purdue team 56-3. After Texas A&M's loss to Texas on Friday night, though, Indiana entered Saturday ranked No. 1 in ESPN's strength of record metric, but Ohio State was No. 1 in game control. The Buckeyes have the lowest schedule strength (No. 54) of the top contenders, except Texas Tech (No. 57).
Need to
Read more on espn.com
espn.com
