The penultimate College Football Playoff rankings serve as a table-setter for Selection Sunday five days later with the majority of teams in at-large consideration not playing in conference championship games.
That means the fifth release of the season Tuesday, Dec. 2, was important in establishing a pecking - both for seeds and for teams fighting to make the field.
The top of the rankings did not change with Ohio State and Indiana - the lone unbeatens in the Bowl Subdivisions - leading as the Big Ten school have since the first release. That will change in the final rankings on Sunday, Dec. 7, with the Buckeyes and Hoosiers set to meet in the conference title game.
Who would follow the top two was the first question for the committee to answer. Last week's No. 3 Texas A&M lost to Texas, knocking the Aggies out of the SEC title game. How far would the A&M fall? The committee slotted them at No. 7, meaning a likely first-round home game with no opportunity to earn a bye to the quarterfinals.
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