Week 13 College Football Playoff Rankings
This week the CFP rankings are little changed which is not surprising given the top seven all won. The top three are all unbeaten and the top ten is filled out with one-loss teams, any one of whom could still edge into the final four by winning out. The only loser was Minnesota who lost on the road to now No 17 Iowa, a defeat which dropped them to the fringes of the New Year Bowl games.
Baylor who threw away a 25 point lead over Oklahoma is the lowest-ranked one-loss team and this doesn’t bode well for the Big 12, whose members keep beating up on each other.
We were a little surprised to see a three-loss Auburn ranking ahead of Notre Dame, especially given the Irish handed a ranked Navy a sound beating and the fact that Virginia tech who they beat recently has put in solid performances since. It looks like the CFP are favouring quality losses over good wins again this year. However, this seems at odds with putting Georgia Ahead of Alabama whose loss is better than Georgia’s.
Whatever the final four is now between 11 teams – we are being generous putting Baylor in there as even if they win out we doubt they would leapfrog any other one-loss team.
In the race for the Power Five Cotton Bowl slot, Memphis have moved into pole position just ahead of Cinncinati, who they meet in the final regular-season game – a stroke of luck for the TV schedulers, and it’s possible that they would play the following week in the Conference Final. However, they could end up suffering for this as if they split the games then a one-loss Boise or Appalachian State could easily take the spot.
The Lower Reaches
Outside of the top 16, who are the main candidates for the prestige bowl games, the ranked teams include a surprising amount of three and four-loss teams included (20%). This is a strong indication of the low regard that the CFP seems to have for Non-Power Five Conferences. Maybe the time has come for a separate national championship for the Power Five conferences or for the playoffs to expand so a Group of Five team (or three) are automatically included. An eight-team playoff field would make for compelling viewing. Anyway musings aside the top 25 is below.
CFP Top 25
1 LSU 10-0
2 Ohio State 10-0
3 Clemson 11-0
4 Georgia 9-1
5 Alabama 9-1
6 Oregon 9-1
7 Utah 9-1
8 Penn State 9-1
9 Oklahoma 9-1
10 Minnesota 9-1
11 Florida 9-2
12 Wisconsin 8-2
13 Michigan 8-2
14 Baylor 9-1
15 Auburn 7-3
16 Notre Dame 8-2
17 Iowa 7-3
18 Memphis 9-1
19 Cincinnati 9-1
20 Boise State 9-1
21 Oklahoma State 7-3
22 Iowa State 6-4
23 USC 7-4
24 Appalachian State 9-1
25 SMU 9-1
