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Georgia, Texas Tech football spark 'significant debate' in CFP ranking
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- Georgia, Texas Tech football spark 'significant debate' in CFP ranking
This story has been updated with new comments.
As much as Texas Tech football coach Joey McGuire might love the spectacle of a College Football Playoff game in Jones AT&T Stadium , McGuire says he'd rather have the rest that comes with a first-round bye.
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Now his team is sitting in that position for the first time, thanks to a stumble by one of its old rivals.
The CFP selection committee put Texas Tech at No. 4, up one spot from last week in the newest edition of the CFP rankings released Tuesday, Dec. 2. The top four teams in the final ranking, which comes out on Sunday, Dec. 7, receive first-round byes in the 12-team field. Teams ranked 5 through 8 will host CFP first-round games Dec. 19 and 20 against teams ranked 9 through 12.
Big Ten championship game participants Ohio State and Indiana remained 1-2 in the rankings. Georgia , Texas Tech and Oregon each moved up a spot from last week, rounding out the top five.
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Texas A&M was ranked No. 3 last week but dropped four spots after losing its regular-season finale at Texas 27-17. Ole Miss is No. 6 and Texas A&M No. 7. Rounding out the top 10 are Oklahoma , Alabama and Notre Dame.
Asked to compare Georgia and Texas Tech in the third and fourth spots, CFP selection committee chairman Hunter Yurachek said, "That's a place where we had some significant debate. Two really strong 11-win teams."
Yurachek, the Arkansas athletics director, pointed to Georgia's victories over Tennessee , Ole Miss, Texas and Georgia Tech — three teams in the rankings and one that was last week — and its one loss being to Alabama. He noted Tech's wins over ranked opponents Utah, Houston and Brigham Young and acknowledged Tech's lone loss, to Arizona State , came without starting quarterback Behren Morton .
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"Both of these are really, really strong teams," Yurachek said. "Georgia got the nod just based on their strength of schedule, the wins that they have, versus Texas Tech."
Teams ranked 11 through 15 are BYU , Miami (Fla.), Texas, Vanderbilt and Utah. Teams ranked 16 through 20 are Southern California, Virginia , Arizona, Michigan and Tulane.
Completing the top 25 are Houston, Georgia Tech, Iowa , North Texas and James Madison .
Texas Tech's Ben Roberts attempts to make a tackle against BYU during a Big 12 Conference football game, Saturday, Nov. 8, at Jones AT&T Stadium.
If the rankings were to stay the same come Sunday, Tech would play a CFP quarterfinal against the winner of Oregon and the lowest-ranked of the five conference champions guaranteed a berth.
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Texas Tech plays BYU in the Big 12 championship game on Saturday, Dec. 6. Kickoff comes at 11 a.m. at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Both teams are 11-1 and finished 8-1 in the Big 12. BYU's only loss was a 29-7 setback to Tech on Nov. 8 at Jones AT&T Stadium. Tech's lone loss was a 26-22 defeat on Oct. 18 at Arizona State.
The CFP rankings come out weekly, with the final ranking released after this weekend's conference championship games are complete.
2025 College Football Playoff Schedule
FIRST ROUND: Friday, Dec. 19 and Saturday, Dec. 20 at higher-seeded school.
QUARTERFINALS: Wednesday, Dec. 31: Cotton Bowl (Arlington), 6:30 p.m.; Thursday, Jan. 1: Orange Bowl (Miami), 11 a.m.; Rose Bowl (Pasadena, California), 3 p.m.; Sugar Bowl (New Orleans), 7 p.m.
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SEMIFINALS: Thursday, Jan. 8: Fiesta Bowl (Phoenix), 6:30 p.m.; Friday, Jan. 9: Peach Bowl (Atlanta), 6:30 p.m.
FINALS: Monday, Jan. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium (Miami), 6:30 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Georgia, Texas Tech football spark 'significant debate' in CFP ranking
