Two things happened on this Monday. One, most Tiger fans will agree, is more important than the other though. The College Playoff (CFP) Selection Committee laid out their plans for weekly rankings and selection Sunday. These plans were announced by executive director Bill Hancock And will go as follows:
Tuesday, November 17
- Tuesday, November 17
- Tuesday, November 24
- Tuesday, December 1
- Tuesday, December 8
- Tuesday, December 15
- Sunday, December 20 (Selection Day)
Of course, this means that the CFP selection committee will begin its weekly rankings for the 2020-21 season on Tuesday, November 17.
The committee members will meet on Mondays and Tuesdays. They will then reveal their rankings each week on ESPN’s CFP Top-25. They will meet five times prior to releasing their final rankings on selection Sunday which will be December 20.
The top four teams will matchup in the Playoff Semifinals which are scheduled for Friday, January 1st in the Rose Bowl and the Allstate Sugar Bowl. The winners of those matchups are scheduled to meet in the national championship game which is still scheduled to be played Monday, January 11th at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
These changes were made because of the Covid-19 delays and conferences having changed the dates of their championship games. The final rankings were originally supposed to be released on Sunday, December 6.
The second thing that happened on Monday was the releasing of the Preseason Associated Press (AP) Poll and to some, this would not be that big of a deal. It is an unusual AP preseason Top-25 to say the least but it is 2020 and has been quite an unusual year already. This poll has Clemson sitting atop of it just as they were in the AP’s preseason poll last year.
The AP decided to have its voters rank the 25-best out of all 130 FBS teams even though two Power-5 conferences and four FBS conferences overall chose to “postpone” their seasons. The changes will take place in the next AP weekly ranking when it will only include teams playing in the fall.
The Tigers got 38 first-place votes. They were followed by No. 2 Ohio State who got 21, with Alabama next with 2, then Georgia, and Oklahoma. The ACC‘S newest member, Notre Dame, came in at No. 10 and North Carolina was ranked 18th.
The AP’s Preseason Top 25 Poll looks like this:
1 Clemson (14-1) 2 ACC 1,520 (38)
2 * Ohio State (13-1) 3 Big Ten 1,504 (21)
3 Alabama (11-2) 8 SEC 1,422 (2)
4 Georgia (12-2) 4 SEC 1,270
5 Oklahoma (12-2) 7 Big 12 1,269
6 LSU (15-0) 1 SEC 1,186 (1)
7 * Penn State (11-2) 9 Big Ten 1,147
8 Florida (11-2) 6 SEC 1,125
9 * Oregon (12-2) 5 Pac-12 1,119
10 Notre Dame (11-2) 12 IA Independents 995
11 Auburn (9-4) 14 SEC 852
12 * Wisconsin (10-4) 11 Big Ten 840
13 Texas A&M (8-5) SEC 764
14 Texas (8-5) 25 Big 12 703
15 Oklahoma State (8-5) Big 12 672
16 * Michigan (9-4) 18 Big Ten 611
17 * USC (8-5) Pac-12 534
18 North Carolina (7-6) ACC 496
19 * Minnesota (11-2) 10 Big Ten 451
20 Cincinnati (11-3) 21 American Athletic 234
21 UCF (10-3) 24 American Athletic 229
22 * Utah (11-3) 16 Pac-12 211
23 Iowa State (7-6) Big 12 199
24 * Iowa (10-3) 15 Big Ten 134
25 Tennessee (8-5) SEC 133
Others receiving votes:
Memphis 86, Virginia Tech 85, Boise State 68, Arizona State 66, Miami (FL) 42, Louisville 32, Appalachian State 26, Washington 21, Kentucky 20, Indiana 19, Baylor 15, California 11, TCU 9, Virginia 7, Navy 6, Florida State 6, SMU 3, Mississippi State 3, Air Force 3, Northwestern 1, UAB 1
