The Notre Dame Fighting Irish, ranked No. 11 by the College Football Playoff committee in its initial rankings last week, took down the No. 1 team in the country, the Miami Hurricanes, in Week 10 to spoil their undefeated season.
asserted
Irish → rank → season
The Georgia Bulldogs, who blew out Ole Miss, 42-7, on the road, cemented themselves as the No. 1 team in the country.
asserted
who → blow → country
They were placed No. 2 behind Miami in the initial ranking given their blemish; A loss to Auburn back in October, had them at 7-1 entering Week 10.
asserted
loss → place → Week
Meanwhile, Miami plummeted down the rankings six spots after its one-touchdown loss to Notre Dame, moving to No. 7 overall.
asserted
Miami → plummet → .
And the Fighting Irish jumped up six spots with that "signature" win under their belt at home against the top-ranked team, as they are now at No. 5.
asserted
they → jump → .
But these rankings will surely stir some debate, as Alabama, picking up a commanding 31-13 win over LSU, moved up two spots to No. 3 with a 7-2 record.
asserted
Alabama → stir → record
Utah is above them at No. 2 overall, yet UCLA, who shares the same 9-0 record as the Utes, is No. 4 underneath a two-loss team.
asserted
who → share → team
While that will surely stir up the SEC bias argument on social media and beyond, Tennessee came in at No. 8 after a big win over Kentucky, which the committee has at No. 11 in their latest rankings.
asserted
committee → stir → rankings
Both the Vols and Crimson Tide own a 7-2 record, and the head-to-head question that arose in last week’s rankings is even stronger now since Tennessee beat Alabama 26-10 earlier this season.
asserted
Tennessee → own → Alabama
CFP committee chair Hunter Yurachek, who serves as athletic director for Arkansas, explained Alabama’s placement.
asserted
who → serve → placement
"They’re number one in record strength.
asserted
They → ’re → strength
Number one in their schedule strength," he said.
asserted
he → say → strength
"They have four, what we call, quality wins, because we continue to call that the win against Mississippi State earlier in the year when they had Kamario Taylor on their team.
asserted
they → have → team
Alabama went there and won that game.
asserted
Alabama → go → game
So, Alabama, we believe, deserves to be the No. 3 team in the country.
asserted
we → believe → country
"
And why wasn’t Tennessee ranked higher?
asserted
Tennessee → rank → ?
"Well, we’ll go back to what you just said about Miami and Notre Dame.
asserted
you → go → Miami
Alabama was in that first pool – Tennessee was not in that first pool," Yurachek said, referring to the subgroups teams are placed in based on metrics, with the first pool being the top teams in the country in the committee’s eyes.
asserted
pool → say → eyes
"Tennessee’s got a couple of quality wins – their win they just had against Kentucky and the win they had against Alabama.
asserted
they → get → Alabama
Texas came in at No. 6, and after No. 7 Miami and No. 8 Tennessee, we find Indiana, coming off a bye week, sitting at No. 9.
asserted
Indiana → come → .
They dropped five spots as their key wins earlier this season didn’t look as strong, though the reigning champs remain 8-1.
asserted
champs → drop → spots
At No. 10, BYU comes off a wild one against Utah, where they came back in the game on the road only to lose to the No. 2 team in the country.
asserted
they → come → country
Kentucky is No. 11, Texas Tech is No. 12, and Wake Forest, Houston and Iowa round out the top 15, respectively.
asserted
Forest → round → top
At No. 16, Oregon has leaped seven spots following its 41-28 win over Ohio State, which plummeted eight spots to No. 20 after back-to-back losses that pushed them to 6-3 on the season.
asserted
that → leap → season
Ole Miss, coming in at No. 19, also fell hard (nine spots) following the blowout home loss to Georgia.
asserted
Miss → come → Georgia
Here are the full rankings as we head into another pivotal week:
asserted
we → head → week
The Aporia
