CFP Poll, Week 6: What It Means For The Russell Athletic Bowl

The last set of in-season College Football Playoff Rankings was released Tuesday night.  Take a look at the committee’s Top 25 rankings before the ACC championship game and the last regular season games for the Big12.

1.        Alabama

2.       Oregon

3.       TCU

4.       Florida State

5.       Ohio State

6.       Baylor

7.       Arizona

8.       Michigan State

9.       Kansas State

10.   Mississippi State

11.   Georgia Tech

12.   Mississippi

13.   Wisconsin

14.   Georgia

15.   UCLA

16.   Missouri

17.   Arizona State

18.   Clemson

19.   Auburn

20.   Oklahoma

21.   Louisville

22.   Boise State

23.   Utah

24.   LSU

25.   Southern California

If the season ended today, the Russell Athletic Bowl would host No. 18 Clemson, No. 21 Louisville or Duke from the ACC and No. 20 Oklahoma, West Virginia, or Texas from the Big 12.

The Kansas State/Baylor game can greatly affect the selections to the Russell Athletic Bowl – it determines if Baylor, Kansas State or both get placed into a CFP host bowl.  If both teams remain in the Top 10 (regardless of the outcome), both would be guaranteed spots in the “host” games (Cotton, Fiesta, Peach). In that scenario, the Valero Alamo Bowl would have the first choice of the remaining Big 12 teams, starting with No. 20 Oklahoma.  If either Baylor or Kansas State falls out of the Top 10, they would be available to the Alamo Bowl or the Russell Athletic Bowl.

The ACC team chosen depends on the teams chosen for the Capital One Orange Bowl and the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl.  If the Orange Bowl gets a Big Ten team,  the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl will have the first non-CFP selection from the ACC rather than the Big Ten. In that case, the Russell Athletic Bowl would have the second selection from the ACC.