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IRVING, Texas -- The College Football Playoff on Wednesday approved the selection committee's recommendation to release six weekly rankings (down from seven) in 2015, beginning Nov. 3, with the final four teams to be announced at 12:45 p.m. ET Dec. 6. "The committee felt like they wanted to continue [the weekly rankings] because they thought it enabled them to get to know the teams best," said Bill Hancock, executive director of the CFP. "The management committee agreed, and the management committee continues to believe those weekly rankings are good for the regular season." Hancock said the selection committee was unanimous in its desire to continue the weekly rankings. Arkansas athletic director and committee chair Jeff Long attended Wednesday's meeting to brief the commissioners on the selection committee's first season.  The change to the rankings -- one fewer than in 2014 -- was a natural byproduct of the season starting a week later. The CFP's management committee, which is comprised of the 10 Football Bowl Subdivision commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick, met Tuesday and Wednesday and concluded its spring meetings a day early. Hancock said the "heavy lifting" had been done in previous meetings, and this was more of a "nuts and bolts" meeting to review the playoff without many changes. He said the commissioners did discuss the importance of a 13th game, but there is "certainly no movement" to mandate a league title game in the playoff era. The Big 12 is the only Power 5 conference without a conference championship game. "The 13th game against a quality opponent helped Ohio State," he said. "The other matter at play here is everyone in that room -- particularly [Big 12 commissioner] Bob [Bowlsby] -- understands the rewards and the risk of a conference championship game." Hancock said the commissioners also discussed TCU's drop from No. 3 to No. 6 and when head-to-head records should come into play, and said the CFP needs to further educate the public of the importance of conference championships -- not championship games. "There was talk about whether the Big 12 needs to decide a champion, and the group felt like that's up to the Big 12; it's not our decision," Hancock said. "From the reports I'm hearing and reading, they are heading in that direction. I don't know that it would've helped them last year, I really don't. I don't think anybody can say. Because the committee put Baylor ahead of TCU in large part because they won the game." Hancock said he thinks it's possible a team can lose its championship game and still get into the playoff. "In the BCS days, we said if it could happen, it did happen," Hancock said. "And I think that will be the case in the playoff, too."
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