Cincinnati debuted at No. 6 within the preliminary School Soccer Playoff rankings Tuesday night time, whereas SEC powers Georgia and Alabama prime the rundown at No. 1 and No. 2, adopted by No. 3 Michigan State and No. 4 Oregon.
The Bearcats landed the highest-ever rating for a Group of 5 group, one spot forward of the No. 7 designation they held throughout an undefeated common season in 2020. However Cincinnati (8-0), which ranks No. 2 in each the AP and Coaches polls, had aimed to change into the primary Group of 5 group to ever seem within the CFP choice committee’s prime 4. Cincinnati’s profile is boosted by an Oct. 2 street win over No. 10 Notre Dame, which ended the Combating Irish’s 26-game house win streak. However Cincinnati is also the one American Athletic Convention group ranked by the choice committee, as neither SMU (7-1) nor Houston (7-1) seem.
A Group of 5 group has by no means appeared within the CFP, which launched throughout the 2014 season.
Ohio State is No. 5, one spot behind an Oregon group it misplaced to Sept. 11 at Ohio Stadium. Oregon is the Pac-12’s lone consultant within the preliminary CFP top-25, buoyed by the Ohio State win (prime defender Kavyon Thibodeaux didn’t play) and never harmed by an Oct. 2 street loss to Stanford (offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead didn’t name performs due to a well being challenge).
Oklahoma seems at No. 8 regardless of being the nation’s solely 9-0 group. The Sooners have zero wins in opposition to opponents ranked by the choice committee, and struggled to beat Kansas, Tulane, Nebraska and others. Oklahoma, which has missed the CFP simply twice in its historical past, faces No. 12 Baylor subsequent week and No. 11 Oklahoma State on Nov. 27.
The ACC’s playoff hopes relaxation with Wake Forest, which debuts at No. 9 within the CFP rankings, two days after its first-ever top-10 look within the AP ballot. Solely two different ACC groups — No. 19 NC State and No. 25 Pitt — seem within the rankings.
Georgia not surprisingly landed the highest spot, however 1-loss Alabama is available in simply behind the Bulldogs, forward of three undefeated Energy 5 groups. The Tide misplaced Oct. 9 at Texas A&M, which is No. 14 within the preliminary rankings regardless of defeats to unranked Arkansas and No. 17 Mississippi State. Mike Leach’s Bulldogs are solely 5-3 with shut losses to 2 unranked groups (Memphis and LSU), however rank forward of two groups they’ve crushed, No. 18 Kentucky and No. 19 NC State.
Michigan State, which made its lone playoff look in 2015, debuts at No. 3 following a come-from-behind house win over No. 7 Michigan. The Spartans nonetheless have video games in opposition to Ohio State (Nov. 20) and Penn State (Nov. 27), which isn’t ranked after dropping its final three video games.
The SEC and Huge Ten dominate the committee’s preliminary rankings, accounting for 5 of the highest seven spots and 13 of the 25 spots. The SEC has seven of the top-18 groups, as Auburn seems at No. 13, one spot forward of a Texas A&M group it visits Saturday. Two FBS independents seem in Notre Dame and No. 15 BYU, whereas the Mountain West lands two entries in No. 23 Fresno State and No. 24 San Diego State, which each personal wins in opposition to Pac-12 opponents.
Regardless of an 8-0 begin, Texas-San Antonio doesn’t seem within the preliminary CFP rankings.
