'Strong resume' keeps Michigan at No. 4 in College Football Playoff rankings

Michigan remains No. 4 in the new College Football Playoff rankings that offered no surprises at the top.

The Wolverines are coming off their ninth-straight victory, 42-7, at Rutgers last week. Michigan has the nation’s top-ranked defense and has allowed a touchdown in each of the last three games.

Alabama remains at No 1, Clemson is No. 2 and Notre Dame is No. 3. Georgia, also a one-loss team, is fifth and Oklahoma sixth in the new rankings released Tuesday.

CFP chair Rob Mullens was asked on a conference call Tuesday night why Michigan is ranked ahead of Georgia.

“Well, I mean, Michigan has a very strong resume,” Mullens said. “They've won nine games in a row. Only loss is to the No. 3-ranked team on the board in the first game of the year, and again, they've got wins over Northwestern at Northwestern, at Michigan State, and a dominant win over Penn State, the No. 1 defense in the country. Strong resume.”

The Wolverines (9-1, 7-0 Big Ten) have two regular-season games remaining — home against Indiana on Saturday and at Ohio State the following week. If they win the Big Ten East Division, they will play Northwestern for the Big Ten championship on Dec. 1.

Michigan State, which had been No. 18 in the CFP rankings, dropped out after the loss to Ohio State.

Here are the remaining regular-season games for the top six teams in the CFP rankings:

1. Alabama (10-0): The Citadel, Auburn

2. Clemson (10-0): Duke, South Carolina

3. Notre Dame (10-0): Syracuse (at Yankee Stadium), at USC

4. Michigan (9-1): Indiana, at Ohio State

5. Georgia (9-1): UMass, Georgia Tech

6. Oklahoma (9-1): Kansas, at West Virginia

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF RANKINGS

 1. Alabama, 10-0

 2. Clemson, 10-0

 3. Notre Dame, 10-0

 4. Michigan, 9-1

 5. Georgia, 9-1

 6. Oklahoma, 9-1

 7. LSU, 8-2

 8. Washington State, 9-1

 9. West Virginia. 8-1

10. Ohio State, 9-1

11. UCF, 9-0

12. Syracuse, 8-2

13. Florida, 7-3

14. Penn State, 7-3

15. Texas, 7-3

16. Iowa State, 6-3

17. Kentucky, 7-3

18. Washington, 7-3

19. Utah, 7-3

20. Boston College, 7-3

21. Mississippi State, 6-4

22. Northwestern, 6-4

23. Utah State, 9-1

24. Cincinnati, 9-1

25. Boise State, 8-2