Nick Saban and Alabama are still the nation's top team. (John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports)
The top four spots in the College Football Playoff rankings released on Tuesday were unchanged from last week, with Alabama still holding the No. 1 slot.
Few pivotal games took place this past weekend, leaving Oregon at No. 2, unbeaten Florida State at No. 3 and Mississippi State at No. 4.
The three one-loss teams right behind are No. 5 TCU, No. 6 Ohio State and No. 7 Baylor.
A number of key games take place this weekend, with conference championship games scheduled for the following week.
The rankings don’t mean much until the 12-person selection committee announces its final rankings on Sunday, December 7. The top four teams at that time will participate in the first college football playoff.
Mississippi suffered the biggest drop this week, falling from No. 8 to No. 19 after its 30-0 loss to Arkansas.
Perhaps the most noteworthy aspect of this week’s top-25 rankings was the presence of two teams from outside the five power conferences.
Boise State (9-2) came in at No. 23, and Marshall, the only unbeaten FBS team besides Florida State, was No. 24.
That is important because the highest ranked team from outside the power five conferences earns an automatic berth in one of the four major bowls not included in the playoffs.
Only 11 selection committee members took part in the rankings process this week, because former Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese was unable to participate due to an illness.
