Things remained unchanged at the top of this week's College Football Playoff rankings released Tuesday night, but there is plenty of intrigue remaining as we edge closer to the final postseason lineup.
The top four spots remained No. 1 Alabama (11-0), No. 2 Ohio State (9-1), No. 3 Michigan (10-1) and No. 4 Clemson (10-1), with the biggest development coming at the No. 5 spot.
Louisville's loss to Houston last Thursday moved the Cardinals out of the playoff discussion, making way for Washington (10-1) to move up to fifth overall.
Other teams moved up a spot from last week, with No. 6 Wisconsin (9-2), No. 7 Penn State (9-2), No. 8 Oklahoma (9-2), No. 9 Colorado (9-2) and No. 10 Oklahoma State (9-2) rounding out the top 10 this week.
Among Group of 5 programs, Boise State moved up to No. 19, just ahead of Houston at No. 20, undefeated Western Michigan at No. 21 and Navy at No. 25.
The final poll will be revealed live on ESPN at noon Sunday, Dec. 4. The top four teams qualify for the two semifinal games, which will be held at the Fiesta and Peach bowls on Dec. 31. The winners will meet in the national championship game on Monday, Jan. 9, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.
The remaining games that compose the New Year's Six access bowl games _ Rose, Sugar, Orange, Cotton _ will select the highest-ranked remaining teams that fill their criteria. The highest-ranked conference champion from the Group of 5 conferences _ American, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West and Sun Belt _ also will receive a spot.
The selection committee is composed of 12 members: Kirby Hocutt, Barry Alvarez, Jeff Bower, Herb Deromedi, Tom Jernstedt, Bobby Johnson, Jeff Long, Rob Mullens, Dan Radakovich, Condoleezza Rice, Steve Wieberg and Tyrone Willingham.
