Alabama Crimson Tide linebacker Deontae Lawson (0) reacts during the second half against the Auburn Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

The penultimate College Football Playoff rankings before the bracket is set had a big shift among teams on the edge of making the playoff field.

Alabama jumped ahead of Notre Dame, putting the Crimson Tide at No. 9 and the Fighting Irish at No. 10. Notre Dame had been ahead of the Crimson Tide for the past two weeks, but even though both teams won their last regular season game, Alabama got a slight jump ahead.

With the move, Alabama can feel more safe about making the playoff regardless of its result in the SEC championship game against Georgia. For Notre Dame, it should make the Fighting Irish a bit more nervous about being left out should some chaos happen in the Big 12 and ACC title games.

CFP chair explains Alabama-Notre Dame move

CFP selection committee chair Hunter Yurachek was asked on the ESPN broadcast about the move between the Crimson Tide and Fighting Irish.

He said it has been "one of the strongest debates" in his time on the committee, and this week it was about their final game of the regular season. Notre Dame defeated Stanford 49-20 in its annual rivalry game and Alabama beat Auburn 27-20 in the Iron Bowl.

"Notre Dame went on the road, had a strong win at Stanford, but Alabama went on the road in a rivalry game. Looked really good, especially in the first half, getting up 17-0, ran the ball well," Yuracheck said. "Auburn came back at them, they had a great gutsy call on 4th-and-2 late in the third quarter to get a touchdown, and then got the turnover late in that game.

"I think that was enough to change the minds of a couple of committee members to push Alabama up ahead of Notre Dame in this week's rankings," he added.

Yurachek was asked by Rece Davis if the move was to ensure if Alabama lost in the SEC title and Brigham Young won the Big 12 championship, the Crimson Tide wouldn't get knocked out of the field. He responded it wasn't.

"We will evaluate the results of the championship game after they're all completed over the weekend," Yurachek said.

Alabama can clinch its spot in the playoff in the SEC championship game against Georgia on Saturday, Dec. 6 while Notre Dame will have to wait to see if it makes the field.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why did Alabama jump Notre Dame in CFP rankings? CFP chair explains

Reporting by Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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