INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Hoosiers and Notre Dame Fighting Irish are one step closer to a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Three days after rebounding from their only loss of the season with a 66-0 rout of rival Purdue, the Hoosiers are ninth in the latest CFP rankings — the penultimate rankings of the season.
Indiana dropped five spots in the rankings last week after losing to then-No. 2 Ohio State 38-15.
The ranking currently seeds the Hoosiers 10th in the 12-team College Football Playoff bracket. If the playoff started this week, Indiana would travel to face Georgia in the first round.
Notre Dame helped their own cause with a 49-35 win over USC in their season finale. The Irish climbed to fourth in the rankings this week, thanks in part to Ohio State's 13-10 loss to Michigan.
The Irish have won 10 straight games since being upset by Northern Illinois on Sept. 7. The current bracket would have them at home to face Alabama in the first round of the playoffs.
While many of the teams in playoff contention have concluded their regular season, the rankings could be impacted this weekend by conference championship games, including the matchup between No. 1 Oregon and No. 3 Penn State at Lucas Oil Stadium for the Big Ten championship.
While Notre Dame appears to be locked into a home game in the first round of the playoff (the CFP rules state they can't be seeded higher than fifth), a couple outcomes in conference championship games could put a home game into play for Indiana.
No. 8 SMU faces No 17 Clemson in the ACC title game. While a loss by the Mustangs would drop them below the Hoosiers in the rankings, how far the committee would raise a 9-3 Clemson team would be a question.
Two teams ranked ahead of Indiana, No. 2 Texas and No. 5 Georgia, will meet in the SEC Championship Game. A Longhorns win would drop the Bulldogs to 10-3 on the season, but would that be enough to drop them below the 11-1 Hoosiers?
The top four ranked conference champions will earn byes in the playoff bracket. The remaining eight teams will play each other at the home stadium of the higher-ranked team. Five conference champions earn a spot in the playoff.
The final rankings and the CFP bracket will be revealed Sunday, Dec. 8 at noon Eastern.
CFP rankings (Dec. 3, 2024)
1. Oregon
2. Texas
3. Penn State
4. Notre Dame
5. Georgia
6. Ohio State
7. Tennessee
8. SMU
9. Indiana
10. Boise State
11. Alabama
12. Miami
13. Mississippi
14. South Carolina
15. Arizona State
16. Iowa State
17. Clemson
18. BYU
19. Missouri
20. UNLV
21. Illinois
22. Syracuse
23. Colorado
24. Army
25. Memphis
Projected CFP bracket (Dec. 3, 2024)
First round - Dec. 20-21
Arizona State at Penn State
Tennessee at Ohio State
Alabama at Notre Dame
Indiana at Georgia
Quarterfinals Dec. 31-Jan. 1
Arizona State/Penn State vs. Boise State
Tennessee/Ohio State vs. Oregon
Alabama/Notre Dame vs. SMU
Indiana/Georgia vs. Texas
Semifinals - Jan. 9-10
Arizona State/Penn State/Boise State vs. Tennessee/Ohio State/Oregon
Alabama/Notre Dame/SMU vs. Indiana/Georgia/Texas
Championship - Monday, Jan. 20
Semifinal winners