A new week in college football, a new No. 1 atop the College Football Playoff selection committee's top 25.
Alabama ascended to the top spot in the poll following its win over previous No. 1 Mississippi State on Saturday in Tuscaloosa. That's a jump of four spots and continues to suggest the Crimson Tide will secure a top-two spot -- probably sending them to the nearby Sugar Bowl -- if they win out the rest of the year and become SEC champions.
The Bulldogs didn't drop much, however, staying inside the top four and ahead of other one-loss teams such as No. 5 TCU, No. 6 Ohio State and No. 7 Baylor. There are still plenty of games left, but the pair of SEC teams in the committee's playoff at the moment will no doubt please the many who think the league is the strongest in the country.
Defending national champion Florida State remained at No. 3 in the poll but did get a slight boost with ACC teams Clemson and Louisville being ranked in the top 25. The Seminoles narrowly won on the road over Miami (Fla.) but remain the only undefeated power conference team in college football. Oregon did not budge from its No. 2 spot after a bye week.
Once again, no Group of Five team was included in the committee's top 25 despite Marshall remaining undefeated and Colorado State and Boise State putting together strong cases.
The committee continued to show respect for the Pac-12, with half the league earning a top-25 ranking. In fact, the Pac-12 South alone has just one fewer team in the top 25 than the entire SEC. Thanks to a surprising loss to Oregon State, Arizona State dropped seven spots, to No. 13, but stayed ahead of in-state rival Arizona. The most notable addition to the rankings was USC, which is on the road this week at No. 9 UCLA.
Fresh off its win over Minnesota, which remained at No. 25, Ohio State continues to track down other teams in the poll. It jumped Baylor in the latest rankings and could have a path to the playoff as a conference champion after running the table in the Big Ten. Wisconsin, fresh off a thrashing of Nebraska behind star tailback Melvin Gordon, didn't move too much and landed at No. 16.
It all sets up another interesting week in college football with plenty of movement ahead in the committee's top 25 next Tuesday.
Follow Bryan Fischer on Twitter @BryanDFischer.
