STILLWATER – History was made on Tuesday night by Cincinnati and the College Playoff Selection Committee as a Group of Five team made it into the top four of the CFP rankings for the first time in ever. The unbeaten Bearcats out of the AAC and a future Big 12 member came in at number four. Oklahoma State moved up just as Coach Gundy said, “We’ll move up two.” The Cowboys rose from nine to seven in the rankings, but with Bedlam and a Big 12 Championship opportunity ahead Oklahoma State is still very much in contention to make the CFP top four and a semifinal game on Jan. 1.
In other news with the rankings, Ohio State with the massive win over Michigan State jumped Alabama into second. Alabama was back in third. After Cincinnati, Michigan was fifth and Notre Dame was sixth.
CFP Chairperson and University of Iowa athletic director Gary Barta said the committee felt Ohio State’s win was very impressive and that moved the Buckeyes up. He also said that Cincinnati made a strong impression on the committee members with the win over a solid SMU team.
Behind Oklahoma State was Baylor in eighth and Oklahoma jumped three spots from No. 13 into No. 10.
| CFP Ranking | School | Record |
| 1. | Georgia | 11-0 |
| 2. | Ohio State | 10-1 |
| 3. | Alabama | 10-1 |
| 4. | Cincinnati | 11-0 |
| 5. | Michigan | 10-1 |
| 6. | Notre Dame | 10-1 |
| 7. | Oklahoma State | 10-1 |
| 8. | Baylor | 9-2 |
| 9. | Mississippi | 9-2 |
| 10. | Oklahoma | 10-1 |
| 11. | Oregon | 9-2 |
| 12. | Michigan State | 9-2 |
| 13. | BYU | 9-2 |
| 14. | Wisconsin | 8-3 |
| 15. | Texas A&M | 8-3 |
| 16. | Iowa | 9-2 |
| 17. | Pittsburgh | 9-2 |
| 18. | Wake Forest | 9-2 |
| 19. | Utah | 8-3 |
| 20. | North Carolina State | 8-3 |
| 21. | San Diego State | 10-1 |
| 22. | UTSA | 11-0 |
| 23. | Clemson | 8-3 |
| 24. | Houston | 10-1 |
| 25. | Arkansas | 7-4 |
You can see the Big 12 is bunched together pretty good and with the potential of Oklahoma State playing Baylor following a Bedlam win. What are the prospects for Oklahoma State to move up?
“I don’t want to predict how strong the survivor would be,” Barta answered or not. “You have Oklahoma State at seven and they have beaten Baylor, yet Baylor has beaten Oklahoma. Oklahoma is 10-1 and their only loss to that good Baylor team. They are fairly bunched close together and there are games to be played amongst that group. You know my answer about not projecting forward other than we get to see some good football ahead.”
There is the matter of winning a conference championship and that carries weight.
“It continues to be another piece of information, data point or what have you that the committee will play close attention to,” Barta said. “Those games are generally played between two good football teams and that will be an important piece of the evaluation in that last ranking.”
