Michigan running back Hassan Haskins celebrates during the Wolverines win over Ohio State on Saturday in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Tony Ding/Associated Press
DALLAS — Michigan moved up to No. 2 Tuesday night in the second-to-last College Football Playoff rankings, joining Georgia, Alabama and Cincinnati in the top four heading into conference championship weekend.
Oklahoma State is fifth going into the Big 12 championship game Saturday against Baylor, and Notre Dame is sixth with no games left and no head coach.
Brian Kelly left the Fighting Irish and was introduced as the new coach at LSU on Tuesday, three days after independent Notre Dame finished its season 11-1.
Georgia was first, as it has been for every selection committee ranking so far, and Michigan climbed to No. 2 after it beat last week’s No. 2, Ohio State. The Wolverines play Iowa in the Big Ten title game.
Alabama will be third going into the Southeastern Conference championship game with Georgia, and Cincinnati is fourth heading into its American Athletic Conference championship against Houston.
The playoff field will be set Sunday.
The penultimate rankings come the day before the conference commissioners who manage the playoff meet in Dallas for a pivotal gathering.
The management committee – comprised of the commissioners of the 10 FBS conferences and Notre Dame’s athletic director – has a self-imposed deadline to agree on how to expand the playoff.
The commissioners have been debating whether to triple the playoff field to 12 teams. For a new model to be in place by the 2024 season, a format would have to be approved by the CFP oversight committee of university presidents and chancellors by mid-January.
If the management committee cannot come to a consensus on the the size of the field at this meeting, it is likely that the soonest expansion could happen would be the 2026 season.
LSU: The school ormally announced the hiring of Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly on Tuesday and said they have agreed to a 10-year contract worth $95 million plus incentives.
The hiring of Kelly – who has led Notre Dame for the past 12 seasons and eclipsed Knute Rockne for career victories with the storied Fighting Irish – came together on Monday night in yet another blockbuster coaching move in college football.
“Brian Kelly is the epitome of a winner,” LSU Athletic Director Scott Woodward said. “He has built and sustained success at every program he’s led, from multiple undefeated regular seasons and National Coach of the Year honors to (Division II) national titles and College Football Playoff berths. His credentials and consistency speak for themselves.”
Kelly replaces Ed Orgeron, a Louisiana native who won a national title at LSU just two seasons ago with Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Joe Burrow leading the Tigers to a 15-0 record. Orgeron has gone 11-11 since and agreed in October to a $17 million buyout that would have him step down at the end of this season.
KENTUCKY: Coach Mark Stoops has agreed to a contract extension that will keep him with the No. 25 Wildcats through June 2028.
Stoops’ deal is being finalized, but will continue to include guaranteed extensions of one year for a seven-win season and two years for a 10-win finish. A release Tuesday stated Stoops earned a one-year extension through 2027 with Kentucky’s current 9-3 record.
Stoops said in the release that he and Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart came to an agreement “a week or two ago” and shook hands on Saturday afternoon.
“I’m excited to continue to build this program to national prominence,” Stoops said in the release. “We’re on our way and I’m more confident in Kentucky football than I’ve ever been.”
Stoops is 58-53 in nine seasons with the Wildcats and has earned a sixth consecutive postseason appearance. His name had surfaced in recent days amid speculation about openings at LSU – which on Monday hired Brian Kelly from Notre Dame – and Oklahoma, where his brother, Bob, coached. Florida had also been mentioned as a possibility before it hired Billy Napier on Sunday.
AUBURN: Coach Bryan Harsin fired offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Bobo after one season.
Spokesman Kirk Sampson confirmed that Bobo isn’t being retained. He was hired in January with a three-year contract worth $1.3 million annually. Auburn will owe him the remaining $2.6 million.
The Tigers (6-6) lost their last four games, blowing double-digit leads in three straight to end the regular season. They scored a total of 12 points in the second half of those games, not counting the four overtimes in a 24-22 loss to No. 4 Alabama. Starting quarterback Bo Nix missed the final two games after ankle surgery.
Bobo came to Auburn after working last season as South Carolina’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach following a five-year stint as the coach at Colorado State. He also played quarterback for Georgia, where he was offensive coordinator from 2007-14.
VIRGINIA TECH: Penn State defensive coordinator and former Bud Foster disciple Brent Pry has been hired as Virginia Tech’s next head coach, the school announced, saying Pry will be introduced Thursday.
Pry has been with Penn State since 2014, first as co-defensive coordinator before becoming the defensive coordinator in 2016. Penn State has ranked in the top five in defense in the Big Ten every season since he’s been there. He also has a history with the Hokies, having served as a graduate assistant working with the defensive line under coordinator Bud Foster from 1995-97. The Hokies went to bowl games each year and won the 1995 Sugar Bowl.
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