Hawkeyes, Spartans, Buckeyes go 4, 5, 6 in College Football Playoff rankings

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Iowa and Michigan State remained at the Nos. 4 and 5 spots, and Ohio State moved up to No. 6 when the latest College Football Playoff rankings were released on Tuesday night.

The top-five rankings for both the Hawkeyes and Spartans indicate that a Playoff berth will almost certainly be the reward for whichever team wins the Big Ten Championship Game this weekend in Indianapolis.

Last weekend, Iowa topped Nebraska to cap a perfect 12-0 regular season, the first 12-win season in program history, and Michigan State drubbed Penn State to move to 11-1 and clinch the Big Ten East Division championship.

Ohio State beat up on Michigan in their annual rivalry game, moving to 11-1. While the Buckeyes won’t compete for the conference title this weekend, college football chaos could somehow land them in the Playoff, should the results of certain other conference championship games pan out in a specific way.

Elsewhere in the top 25, Northwestern moved up from No. 18 to No. 14 after finishing its season with a win over Illinois to record just the fourth 10-win season in program history. A win in the Cats’ bowl game would mean the program’s first 11-win season ever.

Michigan dropped down to No. 15 after reaching the top 10 last week. The Wolverines were pounded by the Buckeyes in the regular-season finale, finishing Jim Harbaugh’s first regular season at 9-3.

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Here’s the complete top 25:

1. Clemson
2. Alabama
3. Oklahoma
4. Iowa
5. Michigan State
6. Ohio State
7. Stanford
8. Notre Dame
9. Florida State
10. North Carolina
11. TCU
12. Baylor
13. Ole Miss
14. Northwestern
15. Michigan
16. Oregon
17. Oklahoma State
18. Florida
19. Houston
20. USC
21. LSU
22. Temple
23. Navy
24. Utah
25. Tennessee

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