What the BCS Top 25 would look like ahead of the penultimate College Football Playoff rankings reveal

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Ahead of conference championships coming up this weekend, the penultimate College Football Playoff rankings come out Tuesday night. Prior to the reveal, @BCSKnowHow on Twitter provided another look at what the BCS rankings would look like — and there was a big surprise at No. 4.

The BCS used more computer data in its rankings, which ended after 2013 when the CFP came to be in 2014. The CFP, meanwhile, comes down more to the human element than the BCS used to, which is the biggest difference between the two ranking systems.

Here’s how the BCS could have shown the CFP rankings after rivalry week.

Ohio State came in at No. 5 in both the AP Top 25 and USA TODAY Coaches Poll this week, but the BCS projections put the Buckeyes in the thick of the CFP race despite losing to Michigan last week. @BCSKnowHow showed a breakdown of how the six computers ranked the teams, and Ohio State was No. 2 in one, No. 3 in another, No. 4 in three and No. 5 in the sixth, meaning the metrics support the Buckeyes.

However, USC checked in at No. 4 in one computer projection while also appearing at No. 10 and No. 11 in two others. The Trojans are heading to the Pac-12 Championship on Friday and bring a 10-1 record into the game — the lone loss coming to Utah on a late two-point conversion on the road.

There’s one more surprise in the BCS projections, though. Alabama still has a path to the top four, according to the computers, despite ending the regular season with two losses and missing the SEC Championship. Two computers projected Alabama at No. 4.

There’s been growing support for the Trojans heading into Tuesday’s CFP rankings reveal, which is set for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.