College Football Playoff rankings: Why did Washington jump Florida State for No. 4 spot?

Bill Bender

College Football Playoff rankings: Why did Washington jump Florida State for No. 4 spot? image

The College Football Playoff rankings saw the first change in the top four on Tuesday. 

No. 4 Washington (11-0) flipped spots with No. 5 Florida State (11-0), and that’s going to kick-start a debate in the aftermath of Seminoles quarterback Jordan Travis’ season-ending ankle injury

The top three spots remain unchanged. No. 1 Georgia (11-0), No. 2 Ohio State (11-0) and No. 3 Michigan (11-0) hold those spots ahead of The Game between the Buckeyes and Wolverines this week. That means at least one of the five unbeaten teams in the Power 5 will have a loss heading into conference championship week. 

CFP committee chairman Boo Corrigan defended that decision on ESPN's "College Football Playoff: Top 25" show. 

"It really was about Washington and what Washington did this past weekend and going up to Reser Stadium," Corrigan said. "Tough place to play. Their defense has come around."  

Florida State had been ranked No. 4 in the first three sets of CFP rankings, with Washington one spot behind at No. 5 each time. That changed with two weeks left until the final pairings are released on Dec. 3. 

MORE: SN's latest college football bowl projections after Week 12

Why Washington jumped Florida State in CFP rankings

Washington beat No. 16 Oregon State 22-20 in Week 12, which was their third consecutive victory against a ranked opponent. The Huskies also have the 36-33 victory against No. 6 Oregon, and those teams appear headed for a rematch in the Pac-12 championship game at Allegiant Stadium on Dec. 1. 

Washington plays Washington State in the Apple Cup on Saturday. The Huskies also have quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who is one of the front-runners for the Heisman Trophy. 

Where does that leave Florida State? With Travis out, the Seminoles are turning to backup quarterback Tate Rodemaker, who hit 13 of 23 passes for 217 yards and two TDs in a 58-13 victory against North Alabama. Corrigan said the Travis injury did not impact the committee's decision to bump the Seminoles down. 

"It didn’t have any impact as we're watching the game," Corrigan said. "Florida State starts off down 13. Rodemaker comes in the game. They scored 58 straight points. They have a lot of dudes on the field. That's where we are this week.”  

Is that fair? Florida State (40.1) ranks seventh in the FBS in scoring offense. The Huskies (39.3) are ninth. Both teams also have a top-five strength of record rating. The Seminoles have a victory against No. 14 LSU in hand, and Florida State will play Florida on Saturday before the ACC championship matchup against No. 10 Louisville (10-1). 

Florida State still could go unbeaten, and that would be difficult for the CFP committee to justify turning away an unbeaten Power 5 conference champion at the expense of a one-loss team, even without their starting quarterback. But if the committee was willing to preemptively drop the Seminoles now, then that could make for some interesting debates later. With Washington, it's a case of what the Huskies have accomplished the last three weeks. 

College Football Playoff rankings 

Here is a look at the College Football Playoff rankings heading into Rivalry Week. A total of nine Power 5 teams have one loss or less heading into Week 13. No two-loss team has made the College Football Playoff since 2014. 

RANK SCHOOL RECORD
1 Georgia 11-0
2 Ohio State 11-0
3 Michigan 11-0
4 Washington 11-0
5 Florida State 11-0
6 Oregon 10-1
7 Texas 10-1
8 Alabama 10-1
9 Missouri 9-2
10 Louisville 10-1
11 Penn State 9-2
12 Ole Miss 9-2
13 Oklahoma 9-2
14 LSU 8-3
15 Arizona 8-3
16 Oregon State 8-3
17 Iowa 9-2
18 Notre Dame 8-3
19 Kansas State 8-3
20 Oklahoma State 8-3
21 Tennessee 7-4
22 NC State 8-3
23 Tulane 10-1
24 Clemson 7-4
25 Liberty 11-0

Bill Bender

Bill Bender Photo

Bill Bender graduated from Ohio University in 2002 and started at The Sporting News as a fantasy football writer in 2007. He has covered the College Football Playoff, NBA Finals and World Series for SN. Bender enjoys story-telling, awesomely-bad 80s movies and coaching youth sports.