Difficult questions about where to rank Tennessee and how to compare Southern California and Clemson makes this the most challenging USA TODAY Sports NCAA Re-Rank 1-131 of the regular season, at least when it comes to splitting hairs between the many one- and two-loss teams outside the top four.
This top four faced tough tests but survived to move one step closer to the College Football Playoff. But the Volunteers’ defensive collapse and loss to South Carolina creates a new debate at No. 5.
The re-rank went with Clemson over USC, citing the Tigers’ deeper list of quality wins and strong performances since losing to Notre Dame.