Top 6 teams remain the same in College Football Playoff rankings; Iowa State now 7th

The top six teams in the CFP rankings remained the same Tuesday, including Ohio State, which stays at No. 4 despite uncertainty about its upcoming opponents.

The Big 12, meanwhile, is still alive in the CFP race.

The Buckeyes stay ahead of No. 5 Texas A&M and No. 6 Florida following a 52-12 win against Michigan State. The top three spots in the rankings once again belong to Alabama (9-0), Notre Dame (10-0) and Clemson (9-1).

Earlier Tuesday, Ohio State learned its upcoming game against Michigan was canceled because of COVID issues within the Wolverines program. At 5-0, the Buckeyes would need to play another Big Ten opponent this weekend, or have the six-game threshold for reaching the league championship adjusted so they could face No. 14 Northwestern next week in Indianapolis.

If Ohio State doesn’t reach the Big Ten title game, it could be paired next week against No. 16 Iowa, which moves up three spots after its fifth consecutive win.

1. Alabama (9-0) 2. Notre Dame (10-0) 3. Clemson (9-1) 4. Ohio State (5-0) 5. Texas A&M (7-1) 6. Florida (8-1) 7. Iowa State (8-2) 8. Cincinnati (8-0) 9. Georgia (6-2) 10. Miami (8-1) 11. Oklahoma (7-2) 12. Indiana (6-1) 13. Coastal Carolina (10-0) 14. Northwestern (5-1) 15. USC (4-0) 16. Iowa (5-2) 17. North Carolina (7-3) 18. BYU (9-1) 19. Louisiana (9-1) 20. Texas (6-3) 21. Colorado (4-0) 22. Oklahoma State (6-3) 23. NC State (8-3) 24. Tulsa (6-1) 25. Missouri (5-3)

The Big 12’s slim playoff hopes received a boost as Iowa State (8-2) moved to No. 7, ahead of undefeated Cincinnati, which slipped a spot to No. 8 after not playing since Nov. 28. The Bearcats again will be off this week because of COVID-19 issues within their program, before facing No. 24 Tulsa in the AAC championship next week.

Iowa State, the highest-ranked two-loss team, is set to face No. 11 Oklahoma next week in the Big 12 championship game. A conference championship likely would keep the Cyclones ahead of Cincinnati and possibly push them into the top four.

Coastal Carolina and BYU traded spots in the rankings following the Chanticleers’ home win over the Cougars. At 10-0, Coastal Carolina now sits at No. 13, while BYU drops five spots to No. 18 following its first loss of the season.

USC remains the Pac-12’s highest-rated team at No. 15 after it improved to 4-0 with a dominant win Sunday against Washington State. Colorado, the Pac-12’s other undefeated team, finally entered the CFP rankings at No. 21.

Louisiana, which beat Iowa State 31-14 to open the season, moved up six spots to No. 19 this week. Texas re-enters the rankings at No. 20, and Missouri makes its debut at No. 25 despite three losses.

The CFP selection committee will release a new Top 25 on Dec. 15 before the final rankings are unveiled Dec. 20.