Washington has moved up to No. 3 in the updated College Football Playoff rankings.

The CFP selection committee unveiled the penultimate set of rankings live on ESPN Tuesday night. Following Ohio State’s loss to Michigan in Week 13, the committee dropped the Buckeyes down to No. 6. They then moved Michigan and Washington up one spot each to fill the void.

Florida State re-entered the top four, with Oregon placed right outside the group of unbeatens at No. 5.

It’ll be a top-five matchup on Friday night for the Pac-12 Championship. And considering UW’s movement up off the cut line, it’s fair to assume Washington will be safely into the Playoff if it can beat the Ducks again on a neutral field.

But the Huskies’ placement also begs another question: should Washington be in the CFP regardless of Friday night’s result?

The exact same scenario played out last season. An unbeaten TCU team went into its conference championship game ranked No. 3 in the College Football Playoff rankings. It lost in the conference title game to a team it had beaten at home during the regular season, and it made the Playoff anyway.

A key difference between the two situations exists, though. Last season, there were only two unbeaten teams and two one-loss teams. As things currently stand, there are four unbeaten teams heading into conference championship weekend. Two of them (UW included) play a one-loss team.

Oregon, should it win on Friday, would be one of three presumed one-loss teams vying for a spot. Texas (11-1) faces Oklahoma State in the Big 12 title game.

If Washington should lose on Friday, it will certainly point to last year’s TCU team. But it will need some help to get the same treatment.

Kickoff from Allegiant Stadium on Friday against the Ducks is set for 5 p.m. PT on ABC. The CFP participants will officially be selected on Sunday.

The rest of the new CFP Top 25 can be seen below:

  1. Georgia
  2. Michigan
  3. Washington
  4. Florida State
  5. Oregon
  6. Ohio State
  7. Texas
  8. Alabama
  9. Missouri
  10. Penn State
  11. Ole Miss
  12. Oklahoma
  13. LSU
  14. Louisville
  15. Arizona
  16. Iowa
  17. Notre Dame
  18. Oklahoma State
  19. NC State
  20. Oregon State
  21. Tennessee
  22. Tulane
  23. Clemson
  24. Liberty
  25. Kansas State