Texas Christian is No. 4 in latest College Football Playoff rankings

Mississippi State was about the only constant in Tuesday’s release of the College Football Playoff rankings.

The Bulldogs retained their No. 1 position while the rest of the rankings did cartwheels.

The big winner nationally was Texas Christian, which rose two spots to claim the coveted No. 4 position.

The big winner locally was two-loss UCLA, which jumped seven positions, to No. 11, to remain on the fringe of playoff contention.

The other mild surprise was one-loss Oregon’s jumping to No. 2 ahead of undefeated Florida State.

The new top four: Mississippi State, Oregon, Florida State and TCU.

Alabama is fifth, but essentially controls its fate because it hosts No. 1 Mississippi State on Saturday.

Arizona State is also in solid position at No. 6 as it heads for a possible playoff-spot showdown against Oregon in the Pac-12 Conference title game on Dec. 5.

Rounding out the top 10, Baylor is at No. 7, followed by Ohio State, Auburn and Mississippi.

The top four teams as selected by the 12-person selection committee will meet in semifinal games at the Rose and Sugar bowls. The winners will play Jan. 12 for the national title at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.