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Final College Football Playoff rankings: USC falls from No. 4 to No. 10

After the College Football Playoff semifinal and New Year’s Six bowl matchups were revealed, the CFP selection committee’s full Top 25 was unveiled.

We already knew the top four teams were Georgia, Michigan, TCU and Ohio State. The two teams that just missed out on the playoff field were Alabama at No. 5 and Tennessee at No. 6.

Clemson, after trouncing North Carolina to win the ACC, moved up two spots to No. 7. Two other conference champions also moved up. Utah, the Pac-12 champion, finished the year at No. 8 while Kansas State came in at No. 9 after beating TCU on Saturday.

USC, following its blowout loss to Utah in Las Vegas, tumbled from No. 4 down to No. 10.

Utah quarterback Cameron Rising, right, holds up the trophy and celebrates with Dalton Kincaid, center, and Micah Bernard after Utah defeated Southern California 47-24 in the Pac-12 Conference championship NCAA college football game Friday, Dec. 2, 2022, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Steve Marcus)

With the conference champions moving up the rankings, Penn State dropped from No. 8 to No. 11 ahead of three Pac-12 teams (No. 12 Washington, No. 14 Oregon State and No. 15 Oregon), as well as No. 13 Florida State.

Tulane finished as the highest-ranked Group of Five champion at No. 16, punching its ticket to the Cotton Bowl thanks to a win in the AAC title game. LSU, after its loss to Georgia in the SEC title game, continued its fall. A few weeks ago, LSU was No. 5, but now the Tigers are down to No. 18.

Notably, two other Group of Five teams cracked the Top 25 after going unranked all season. Troy, the champion of the Sun Belt, came in at No. 24. UTSA, the Conference USA champion, is No. 25.

Below is the final top 25 from the CFP selection committee:

  1. Georgia (13-0)

  2. Michigan (13-0)

  3. TCU (12-1)

  4. Ohio State (11-1)

  5. Alabama (10-2)

  6. Tennessee (10-2)

  7. Clemson (11-2)

  8. Utah (10-3)

  9. Kansas State (10-3)

  10. USC (11-2)

  11. Penn State (10-2)

  12. Washington (10-2)

  13. Florida State (9-3)

  14. Oregon State (9-3)

  15. Oregon (9-3)

  16. Tulane (11-2)

  17. LSU (9-4)

  18. UCLA (9-3)

  19. South Carolina (8-4)

  20. Texas (8-4)

  21. Notre Dame (8-4)

  22. Mississippi State (8-4)

  23. NC State (8-4)

  24. Troy (11-2)

  25. UTSA (11-2)