Change is coming, but for now, the College Football Playoff rankings remain the same.
Georgia (10-0) remains No. 1 for the second straight week, followed by Ohio State (10-0), Michigan (10-0), and TCU (10-0).
Tennessee (9-1) remains No. 5, followed by LSU (8-2) and Southern Cal (9-1).
While there is much to be determined, it does appear that Georgia is distancing itself from the rest of the field.
"I think the committee believes there's been separation with Georgia, but there are still more games to play as we kind of get through the balance of the season," CFP Committee Chairman Boo Corrigan said. "When we look at it, we notice the win over Tennessee, the win over Oregon, the top-10 defense, another win for them this past week at Mississippi State. In the eyes of the committee, that's a separator for us. Again, looking at those three teams and how balanced they are offensively and defensively, we have determined that Georgia is ahead of the other two."
Ohio State and Michigan meet in their regular-season finale a week from Saturday.
"Those are two well-balanced teams, both in the top 10 offensively and defensively," Corrigan said when asked to compare the Buckeyes and Wolverines. "Ohio State does have the win over Notre Dame, which I believe at this point as a committee, as we talk about it, that stands out a little bit to us as we're going through this. But again, two really good teams that play really hard. Both had good wins this past week over Indiana and Nebraska. There's a reason one is 2 and one is 3 in how close they are.
Whichever one loses in two weeks could open the door for the Vols, who finish the season against South Carolina and Vanderbilt.
However, there's no guarantee the selection committee will automatically slide the Volunteers up if that scenario were to occur.
If Southern Cal, or perhaps even Clemson, finish 12-1 and win their respective conference championships, it's conceivable either one of those programs could get the nod over the Vols. Even if TCU were to lose a game but win the Big 12 title, the Horned Frogs would no doubt still receive consideration.
There's still much to be determined.
