Undefeated Oregon stayed on top in the second batch of College Football Playoff rankings, while Tuesday’s poll shoved Georgia completely out of the bracket after its lopsided loss to Mississippi.
Led by the Ducks, then Ohio State, the Big Ten captured four of the top five spots — a string interrupted only by Texas of the SEC, which was slotted in at No. 3 and would receive a first-round bye. Penn State was fourth.
Georgia’s 28-10 loss to Ole Miss dropped the Bulldogs from third to all the way to 12th, but they would be the first team out because No. 13 Boise State of the Mountain West would receive an automatic bid and the final spot in the 12-team bracket as the fifth-best conference champion.
BYU was ranked sixth but would receive a first-round bye as the Big 12’s champion if it wins out.
Those byes go to the four highest-ranked conference champions, meaning Miami of the ACC would get a week off in this week’s version of the bracket despite a loss to Georgia Tech that dropped the Hurricanes five spots to No. 9.
The other ranked teams after Penn State: No. 5 Indiana, No. 7 Tennessee, No. 8 Notre Dame, No. 10 Alabama and No. 11 Ole Miss.
Both the SEC and Big Ten placed four teams in the projected Week 2 bracket.
Undefeated Army of the American Athletic Conference moved up one spot to No. 24, while Colorado came in at No. 17. Coach Deion Sanders’ Buffaloes can earn a spot in the Big 12 title game by winning their next two games.
Pitt, which was No. 18 last week, dropped out after its loss to Virginia on Saturday.
