USC joins Georgia, Michigan, TCU in CFP's latest top four

Georgia, Michigan, TCU and USC are all poised to make the College Football Playoff with wins in their conference championship games this weekend after the selection committee unveiled its penultimate rankings Tuesday.

There was no change at the top, as Georgia (12-0) remained No. 1. But after Michigan (12-0) beat Ohio State 45-23 last Saturday, the Wolverines jumped one spot to No. 2. TCU (12-0) stayed at No. 3, and USC (11-1) made its first appearance in the top four after the Buckeyes and LSU lost.

«A lot of conversations about the top four,» CFP committee chair Boo Corrigan, the athletic director at NC State, said on ESPN's rankings release show. «We didn't see any reason to move Georgia out of the top spot.»

Ohio State dropped to No. 5, and now must hope for upsets and chaos in the upcoming title games to potentially get an opportunity to make it back into the playoff mix. But much of that will depend on not only the results, but how the committee would view an undefeated team that loses in the conference title game, because Ohio State will not be playing an extra game. Alabama landed just behind the Buckeyes at No. 6.

«It was a tough decision,» Corrigan said regarding the call to put Ohio State ahead of Alabama. «There's four teams in front of them, and there's plenty of games that still need to be played this weekend.»

Conference championship weekend could provide little drama if the top four teams win. It all begins Friday night when No. 11 Utah (9-3) and USC play in the Pac-12 championship game in Las Vegas. Utah handed USC its only loss of the season in October, 43-42, when quarterback Cam Rising ran for a 1-yard touchdown and successfully converted the 2-point conversion attempt with 48 seconds left.

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