CFP Ratings: Georgia, Ohio State, MIchigan and Washingot leapfrogs FSU

With Rivlary and Championship weeks on the horizon, the fourth College Football Playoff Rankings kept Georgia at No. 1, Ohio State No. 2 and Michigan No. 3, but Washington leapfrogged into No. 4 over now No. 5 Florida State, which lost star quarterback Jordan Travis for the season.

This is probably the result of the loss of Travis and the Huskies'  22-20 win at then No. 12 Oregon State Saturday. 

The Seminoles overcame an early 13-0 deficit against FCS North Alabama to prevaile, 58-13. But the score and result hardly mattered after losing Travis to a lower-leg injury -- and how the committee views that injury will be a major curiiosity in the next few weeks.

Florida State plays at rival Florida on Saturday with Tate Rodemaker as its starting quarterback and then has the ACC championship game against No. 10 Louisville on Dec. 2 in Charlotte.

The Huskies host 5-6 Washington State in the Apple Cup on Saturday and are armed with the nation’s No. 1 strength of record, which measures the chance an average top 25 team would match or exceed the Huskies’ record while playing an identical schedule.

UW beat three ranked teams — No. 6 Oregon (10-1), No. 15 Arizona (8-3) and No. 16 Oregon State (8-3). USC and Utah were both ranked when the Huskies beat them in back-to-back weeks this month as well.

FSU, by comparison, has wins against two ranked teams -- a 45-24 victory over No. 14 LSU and a 31-24 overtime win over Clemson.

The six undefeated teams remaining after Week 12 are Georgia, Florida State, Liberty, Michigan, Ohio State, and Washington.

Here is a closer look at the CFP's Top 25:

1. Georgia (11-0)

After jumping to No. 1 in last week’s CFP rankings, Georgia came through with a dominant win over Tennessee on Saturday. The Dawgs have only a rivaly battle against rivalry matchup against Georgia Tech left to cap the regular season. So the big curiosity is regarding ramifications of a Georgia-Alabama SEC Championship game.

2. Ohio State (11-0)

Ohio State dropped from the top spot in the CFP rankings last week after Georgia’s resume surpassed theirs in the eyes of the playoff committee. While they have rolled through the rest of the Big Ten so far, a road test against Michigan will determine not only the Big Ten East champion but bring the list of undefeated teams in the playoff picture down. Regardless, the outcome, many will wonder whether the losing team still has a path to the College Football Playoff.

3. Michigan (11-0)

Michigan remains undefeated under interim head coach Sherrone Moore, who holds down the ship until Jim Harbaugh can return for postseason matchups. If the Wolverines want that to be a multiple-game run, they must win on Saturday. The debate about a one-loss Big Ten team will no doubt dominate headlines by Sunday, but the winner becomes a heavy favorite to lock up a College Football Playoff spot in the Big Ten Championship against Iowa.

4. Washington (11-0)

Washington continued the difficult run through Pac-12 opponents with a win over Oregon State and now needs to handle business against rival Washington State before a potential Pac-12 Championship game. Given the necessary movement of teams above Washington in the CFP rankings, they remain in full control of their destiny as an undefeated team in the playoff picture with a growing resume.

5. Florida State (11-0)

Florida State took a major hit to their CFP hopes when Travis went down with a season-ending injury against North Alabama. Now backup Tate Rodemaker will take the field for a rivalry game against Florida and the ACC Championship against Louisville. The Seminoles can demand respect if they maintain an undefeated record, which wouldput the Seminolesin position to compete with any one-loss team’s resume. Rodemaker has a lot riding on his shoulders.

6. Oregon (10-1)

Oregon remains the top one-loss team and faces in-state rival Oregon State this weekend to cap the regular season. A potential rematch with Washington remains on the horizon in the Pac-12 Championship game. The debate about one-loss CFP contenders will undoubtedly ramp up next week when either Michigan or Ohio State makes a case to stay above Oregon. The value of comparing resumes will again become a major point as people look at numerous outcomes.

The rest of the field:

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)