Miami moved up to No. 2 behind Alabama in the College Football Playoff rankings on Tuesday night, with Clemson slipping one spot to three and Oklahoma holding at four.
Wisconsin and Auburn remained next up behind the top four in a week when the top half of the selection committee’s rankings were mostly unchanged.
Georgia, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State and Southern California followed in the same order as they did last week. Over the next two weeks, every team in the top nine will play another team ranked in the committee’s top 25, including four games matching top playoff contenders.
The Crimson Tide will play at Auburn on Saturday to decide a spot in the Southeastern Conference championship on Dec. 2. The winner plays Georgia.
The Atlantic Coast Conference championship will match Clemson and Miami on Dec. 2, and Wisconsin and Ohio State play in the Big Ten championship.
Miami’s move is small but potentially significant. The unbeaten Hurricanes play at Pitt on Friday and now seem to be better positioned to get into the playoff even with a loss to Clemson, depending on how things play out in other conferences.
Central Florida came in at No. 15 and Memphis is 20th, the highest ranked teams from outside the Power Five. The American Athletic Conference rivals could meet in the league title game in two weeks if UCF beats USF on Black Friday, setting up a game that would likely send the winner into a New Year’s Six bowl as the highest ranked Group of Five conference champion.
KANSAS STATE: Quarterback Jesse Ertz will need surgery on his ailing knee and miss the remainder of the season, while backup Alex Delton remains sidelined after sustaining two concussions.
Wildcats Coach Bill Snyder said it’s possible Delton could return for a bowl game.
That means the Wildcats, who are 6-5 after last week’s upset of Oklahoma State, will lean on freshman Skylar Thompson against Iowa State on Saturday.
KANSAS: Coach David Beaty announced that his captains – Dorance Armstrong Jr., Daniel Wise and Joe Dineen Jr. – were stripped of their status. The trio refused to shake Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield’s hand during the pregame coin-toss, which led to a game filled with vitriol.
Mayfield was hit several times after the whistle, once earning a personal foul on Kansas, while the Heisman Trophy front-runner was caught grabbing his crotch and cursing at the Jayhawks’ bench.
NORTHERN ARIZONA: The school has reversed course after announcing two months ago that Coach Jerome Souers was leaving.
The university now says Souers will continue as coach of the Lumberjacks to “ensure stability” for the football program.
University President Rita Cheng says stability is vital as the school begins a search for a new athletic director.
In September, the school said this would be Souers’ last season.
The 59-year-old is in his 20th season coaching the team.
He is the winningest coach in Big Sky Conference history with 112 wins and he has coached 84 FCS All-Americans.
TENNESSEE STATE: A former Tennessee State player has been charged with aggravated assault with serious bodily injury for punching a coach on the sideline during a game.
Latrelle Lee was arrested Monday and released on $7,500 bond.
According to the arrest affidavit, strength coach TJ Greenstone was trying to keep the Tigers behind the white line when Lee punched him several times around his face, knocking him to the ground. The incident was caught on video, and the affidavit says Greenstone has had medical issues from being hit.
Lee was kicked off the team and expelled from Tennessee State. He is due in court Dec. 8.
DUKE: Safety Jeremy McDuffie will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury.
Team officials said McDuffie will have surgery on Nov. 27 to repair ligament damage in his right knee. McDuffie was hurt during the Blue Devils’ 43-20 victory over Georgia Tech last week.
He started all 11 games and had 58 tackles, three interceptions and nine passes broken up.
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