LSU, rest of top seven remains unchanged in Week 13 College Football Playoff rankings

It’s a new week in college football, but much of the College Football Playoff committee’s Top 25 rankings remain the same.

In fact, there was no movement in the top seven. Three teams left the poll and three teams came in. Taking the biggest fall was Auburn, from 12th to 15th, and making the biggest leap was Iowa, from 20th to 17th.

Also of note, for the second straight week, Clemson is the only ACC team ranked.

Let’s get into the poll, figure out what it means and look ahead to next week.

TOP 25 POLLS: College Football Playoff | Associated Press | Coaches Poll

Top seven remains the same

Each team ranked in the top seven by the College Football Playoff committee last week won, and most of them by wide margin. No. 4 Georgia played the closest game, beating then-ranked No. 12 Auburn 21-14. Every other team in the top seven beat an unranked team, badly.

And so, there was no movement in the top seven, with LSU, Ohio State, Clemson, Georgia, Alabama, Oregon and Utah each retaining their place from a week ago.

That could change this week as a few potential playoff teams have tough match-ups. No. 2 Ohio State hosts No. 8 Penn State at noon ET on Fox, and Georgia hosts a 7-3 Texas A&M team that has won four straight.

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CFP chair Rob Mullens on Tua/Alabama: We’re aware of the injury to the QB… but Alabama continued on to a convincing victory so it didn’t impact their ranking.

— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) November 20, 2019

Tough look for Sooners

Although Oklahoma beat an undefeated Baylor team that was ranked 13th last week, the committee wasn’t very impressed. The Sooners won 34-31 on the road and moved ahead by just one place, coming at ninth this week.

Oklahoma is the highest ranked Big 12 team and has games against TCU and No. 21 Oklahoma State remaining. To get into the playoff, the Sooners probably need more than a few teams ranked ahead of them to lose.

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Rob Mullens explains why Penn State is ranked ahead of Minnesota https://t.co/ajS6FKRF4p

— Kevin McGuire (@KevinOnCFB) November 20, 2019

Three newcomers

With Navy, Kansas State and Texas dropping out, the committee’s rankings, three new teams moved into the poll. SMU rejoined at No. 25, USC appeared at No. 23 and Iowa State made its entrance at No. 22.

Navy has a chance to rejoin the poll next week, and SMU has a chance to improve its standing when the two face off in Annapolis, Maryland on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network. Iowa State plays Kansas, while USC takes on UCLA.

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New leader in G-5 race

After a close call with unranked South Florida, Cincinnati dropped two spots in this week’s poll to No. 19. The Bearcats beat the Bulls 20-17.

With Cincinnati falling, there is a new leader in the race for the Group of Five bid to the Cotton Bowl, as Memphis stayed put at No. 18. The Tigers handily beat Houston on Saturday, 45-27. The Group of Five race could be decided by a Nov. 29 game, when Memphis and Cincinnati play each other to end the regular season.

Until then, or if one of those team’s slips, there’s a few other Group of Five contenders for the Cotton Bowl bid. Boise State is ranked No. 20 this week, Appalachian State is No. 24, and SMU checked in at 25th to round out the poll.

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