LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Indiana and Louisville improved their positions in the second edition of the College Football Playoff rankings, which were released Tuesday night.
The Hoosiers (10-0) moved up three spots to No. 5 while Louisville (6-3) also jumped three spots to No. 19.
The playoff will expand from four to 12 teams this season. The final 12 teams will be selected for the playoff field on Dec. 8.
With two regular season games to go, coach Curt Cignetti’s IU team is currently in position to qualify. That would be a remarkable achievement for Indiana, which won only nine combined games the last three seasons and was picked by many to finish among the bottom three teams in the Big Ten.
Oregon remained No. 1 in the rankings followed by Ohio State, Texas and Penn State, giving the Big Ten four of the top five teams.
Indiana moved past Georgia, Miami and Tennessee.
Indiana will not play this weekend, returning to action Nov. 23 when the Hoosiers visit Ohio State. IU has lost 28 consecutive games to the Buckeyes, including 16 straight in Columbus.
IU will finish its home schedule Nov. 30 against Purdue.
The Hoosiers have trailed in only two of their 10 games in Cignetti’s first season at IU. They improved to 10-0 for the first time in program history by defeating defending national champion Michigan, 20-15, last Saturday in Bloomington.
IU, Oregon, BYU and Army are the four remaining unbeaten teams in the nation. The Hoosiers have not played in a bowl game since the 2020 season. Their last bowl victory came on Dec. 31, 1991.
Louisville will try to extend its winning streak to three Saturday at 3:30 p.m. EST against Stanford in Palo Alto, California. Stanford (2-7) sits in 16th place in the 17-team Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Cards sit in fourth place in the ACC, behind first-place SMU, Clemson and Miami. The Cards were idle last weekend after beating Clemson (33-21) for the first time in program history Nov. 2.
Ranked No. 9, Miami is the top ranked team from the ACC, followed by SMU at 14.
Louisville will finish its season hosting Pittsburgh Nov. 30 and visiting Kentucky Nov. 30.
Copyright 2024 WDRB Media. All rights reserved.
