Oklahoma jumps to third in College Football Playoff rankings

Talk about forward progress.

Oklahoma moved up four spots in the College Football Playoff ranking to No. 3, the playoff committee announced on Tuesday. Clemson and Alabama occupied the first two spots.

The ranking was a stunner. Last week Oklahoma defeated TCU 30-29 at home, and only one team ranked ahead of them last week — Ohio State — lost.

Iowa was ranked fourth, followed by Michigan State, Notre Dame, Baylor, Ohio State, Stanford and Michigan.

There could be more shakeup in the rankings next week after Oklahoma visits Oklahoma State and Notre Dame plays at Stanford.

Playoff committee chairman Jeff Long said Oklahoma’s victories over top-25 opponents Baylor and the Horned Frogs over the past two weeks lifted the Sooners, who “have an increasingly impressive body of work.”

Two weeks of rankings remain. The final one will occur on Dec. 6 and determine which teams play in the national semifinals.

If they were held today based on the current ranking, Clemson would meet Iowa in the Orange Bowl, and Alabama would face Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl.

This story was originally published November 24, 2015 at 7:49 PM with the headline "Oklahoma jumps to third in College Football Playoff rankings."