Clemson leaps to No. 1 in College Football Playoff rankings

Nick Bromberg
·College football and motorsports writer

The defending national champions are back at No. 1.

Thanks to losses by Alabama and Miami in Week 13, Clemson moved to No. 1 in Tuesday’s College Football Playoff rankings. The rankings are the final poll before the official standings come out on Sunday, a day after conference championship weekend concludes.

Auburn is at No. 2 followed by Oklahoma and undefeated Wisconsin. Auburn lost to Clemson in Week 2, meaning a provisional college football title matchup would be a regular-season matchup. Auburn, the only team in the top four that has lost two games, has beaten Georgia and Alabama as they were at No. 1.

The Tigers play the No. 6 Bulldogs again Saturday in the SEC Championship Game.

Alabama is at No. 5 while Miami is at No. 7. Miami plays Clemson on Saturday for the ACC Championship. The winner of that game will very likely make the four-team playoff.

Since the Tide lost to Auburn last week, Alabama is sitting this weekend out. At No. 5, Alabama is ahead of Ohio State, USC and TCU, two-loss teams who are playing for conference titles. But if Ohio State and/or TCU pull upsets in their championship games, Alabama staying ahead of either team and moving into the top four may be a risky proposition.

Central Florida, one of two undefeated teams left in college football, is at No. 14. Athletic director Danny White is not happy.

UCF plays No. 20 Memphis for the American Athletic Conference title Saturday. The winner will get the Group of Five conference berth to the New Year’s Six bowl games.

The full rankings are below. For your convenience, here are the conference title games with massive College Football Playoff implications.

ACC: No. 1 Clemson vs. No. 7 Miami
Big Ten: No. 4 Wisconsin vs. No. 8 Ohio State
Big 12: No. 3 Oklahoma vs. No. 11 TCU
SEC: No. 2 Auburn vs. No. 6 Georgia

1. Clemson
2. Auburn
3. Oklahoma
4. Wisconsin
5. Alabama
6. Georgia
7. Miami
8. Ohio State
9. Penn State
10. USC
11. TCU
12. Stanford
13. Washington
14. UCF
15. Notre Dame
16. Michigan State
17. LSU
18. Washington State
19. Oklahoma State
20. Memphis
21. Northwestern
22. Virginia Tech
23. Mississippi State
24. NC State
25. Fresno State

Clemson has a different quarterback in 2017, but the Tigers are back at No. 1. (AP Photo/Sean Rayford)
Clemson has a different quarterback in 2017, but the Tigers are back at No. 1. (AP Photo/Sean Rayford)

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Nick Bromberg is the editor of Dr. Saturday and From the Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!