The top six teams in the College Football Playoff rankings were unveiled and confirmed earlier in the day with Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame and Oklahoma receiving a top-four ranking to be selected for the College Football Playoff. Georgia and Ohio State were the first two teams out. After that, the selection committee had to determine how to rank the full top 25 in their final rankings.
Michigan managed to stay ahead of undefeated UCF at No. 7 to the No. 8 ranking given to the Knights. UCF handled it accordingly...
LOL 😂
— UCF Football (@UCF_Football) December 2, 2018
As the highest-ranked Group of Five conference champion, UCF is officially heading back to a New Years Six bowl game. The Knights are the first G5 program to go to two consecutive New Years Six bowl games. The exact matchup will be announced later for UCF.
The cutoff point to be considered for an at-large spot in a New Years Six bowl game is the No. 12 ranking, which this year is held by Penn State. At No. 13, Washington State was officially ruled out of the mix for an at-large invite, which is a disappointing ending for what was a fantastic season in Pullman for the Cougars.
By contract, the Sugar Bowl will pit No. 5 Georgia against No. 15 Texas. The Rose Bowl will have No. 6 Ohio State against No. 9 Washington. That leaves two spots in the Peach Bowl and two more in the Fiesta Bowl up for grabs, with one reserved for UCF. UCF played in the Peach Bowl last year, so a return trip is not likely, which means a trip to the Fiesta Bowl could be the likely destination for the Knights. Michigan, Florida and LSU will likely fill the other spots left to be filled in some way.
Here is the full top 25 as determined by the College Football Playoff selection committee at the conclusion of the season before the bowl games.
- Alabama
- Clemson
- Notre Dame
- Oklahoma
- Georgia
- Ohio State
- Michigan
- UCF
- Washington
- Florida
- LSU
- Penn State
- Washington State
- Kentucky
- Texas
- West Virginia
- Utah
- Mississippi State
- Texas A&M
- Syracuse
- Fresno State
- Northwestern
- Missouri
- Iowa State
- Boise State
