ASU football players celebrate with Sparky after their win against Utah on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2014. ASU defeated Utah in overtime 19-16. (Photo by Alexis Macklin)The College Football Playoff Committee unveiled its second-ever Top 25 rankings Tuesday, which saw ASU rise to No. No. 9 in the country.
The Sun Devils jumped five spots from the first rankings, coming in one spot ahead of No. 10 Notre Dame, which will visit Tempe on Saturday.
Winners of three-straight games at the time of the first release, the Sun Devils debuted in the rankings at No. 14 and after an overtime victory over Utah last weekend, jumped into the Top 10.
ASU finishes three spots ahead of No. 12 Baylor, the team that held the Sun Devils out of the Top 10 in this week's AP Top 25.
The rest of the Pac-12 South is tightly bunched near the bottom of the rankings with Utah, UCLA and UA coming in at No. 17, No. 18 and No. 19 respectively.
Oregon is the highest ranked Pac-12 team at No. 4, which puts the Ducks in line for the playoff.
Directly ahead of the Sun Devils are No. 7 Kansas State and No. 8 Michigan State. Both teams will face other Top 25 schools this weekend as the Wildcats take on No. 6 TCU and the Spartans face No. 14 Ohio State, a matchup that will host ESPN's College Gameday.
College Football Playoff Committee Top 10
1. Mississippi State
2. Florida State
3. Auburn
4. Oregon
5. Alabama
6. TCU
7. Kansas State
8. Michigan State
9. ASU
10. Notre Dame
Reach the sports editor at icbeck@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @ICBeck21
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