The third College Football Playoff rankings propelled the event closer to an endgame guaranteed to roil the masses.

Are you ready for five SEC teams?

The conference took a giant leap toward gobbling almost half the bids to the 12-team event when the rankings were unveiled Tuesday evening.

Oklahoma vaulted three spots, to No. 8, following its victory at Alabama. But critically, the 10th-ranked Crimson Tide did not drop below the cut line for CFP inclusion despite sustaining their second loss.

Add No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 4 Georgia and No. 6 Mississippi to the Sooners and Crimson Tide, and the SEC would have five participants if the field were selected today: one automatic qualifier (the conference champion) plus four at-large teams.

Last year, in the first year of the 12-team event, the Bi

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