The new top four
Georgia is No. 1 in the Associated Press poll for week 11, followed by Utah, Notre Dame and UCLA. The Bulldogs moved up after Miami, the previous No. 1, lost its first game of the season. Miami is now the fourth team this season to hold the top spot and then lose it, a run of churn that has no parallel in the past decade.
Utah is 9-0 and has won with defence, holding opponents under 20 points in seven games. Notre Dame is 8-1, its only loss coming in the opening weeks. UCLA is 9-0 for the first time since 1998, and the Bruins have done it with a transfer quarterback and a rebuilt offensive line.
Ohio State's fall
Ohio State dropped to No. 21 after losing 41-28 at home to Oregon. The Buckeyes were ranked second in the preseason and had not been outside the top ten in November since 2011. The loss exposed a secondary that has given up explosive plays all year, and it leaves the Big Ten with Oregon and Indiana as its highest-ranked teams.
Indiana sits fifth, Alabama sixth and Texas seventh. Texas Tech, Texas A&M and Tennessee complete the top ten. The SEC still has five teams in the top 15, which matters when the selection committee weighs schedules.
What the committee will see
The first College Football Playoff rankings of the season were released last week, with the second set due on Tuesday. The committee ranks teams on wins, strength of schedule and conference championships, and it has consistently valued road wins over neutral-site games. Georgia's case rests on a defence that has allowed fewer than 17 points per game. Utah's rests on an unbeaten record in a conference that has less depth at the top.
Two weeks remain in the regular season, plus conference title games. With four teams still unbeaten and several one-loss teams holding better schedules, the argument over the fourth spot will run to the final weekend.