Ole Miss loses coach, but moves up a spot in College Football Playoff rankings; Ohio State still No. 1

Ole Miss lost a coach but gained a spot in the College Football Rankings released Tuesday, moving to No. 6 despite the sudden departure of Lane Kiffin to LSU. Undefeated Ohio State and Indiana remained at Nos. 1 and 2 in the rankings, while Georgia moved to third and Texas Tech rose to No. 4. The rest of the top 12: Oregon, Mississippi, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Alabama, Notre Dame, BYU and Miami, with the flip-flop between the Tide and Irish an eyebrow-raiser as the season heads into its final week before the playoffs. The final rankings come out Sunday, the day after a slate of conference title games determines the five automatic qualifiers for the 12-team bracket. The playoffs start Dec. 19 and end a month later with the title game outside Miami. As newsy as the selection committee's decision was not to dock Mississippi for losing its coach — something it has the latitude to do — was Alabama's move up one to No. 9 at the expense of Notre Dame, which fell to 10. Both teams are 10-2. Committee chair Hunter Yurachek called the decision the product of "one of the strongest debates we've had in the room since I became a member of the committee." One key factor, he said, was Alabama's 27-20 win at archrival Auburn on Saturday — a tougher opponent than Stanford, which the Irish beat 49-20 over the weekend. "That was enough to change the minds of a couple committee members," Yurachek said. The move gives Alabama a better chance to make the 12-team bracket even with a loss Saturday to Georgia in the SEC title game, which would be the Tide's third this season. And Notre Dame finds itself in a precarious position on the bubble despite a 10-game winning streak. But not as precarious as Miami, which remains at No. 12, still behind Notre Dame despite a win over the Irish in the season opener. In another move that could have a huge impact, the committee put James Madison of the Sun Belt Conference at No. 25 — higher than unranked Duke, which plays No. 17 Virginia for the Atlantic Coast Conference title. If Duke and James Madison win, then James Madison could deny the ACC an automatic bid. Those go to the five best-ranked conference titlists, with no guarantee to the Power 4 leagues. The SEC, Big Ten and Big 12 will earn spots, while the American from the Group of 5 seems to have a hold on one of those, with No. 20 Tulane and No. 24 North Texas slated for that title game Friday. It means the fifth and final will either go to the ACC or the Sun Belt, where James Madison plays Troy on Friday for the championship.