Projecting Week 13 College Football Playoff Rankings
Last week, the College Football Playoff Selection Committee had it quite easy.
Only five ranked teams fell in defeat, with the highest being undefeated Oklahoma (No. 8) losing to Baylor and dropping out of the top 10. The CFP's top seven teams remained unchanged with just two weeks left to play.
This week, things are different.
Change will be seen in the newly released College Football Playoff rankings, set to be unveiled at 5 pm Arizona time Tuesday.
This is thanks to the No. 3 Oregon Ducks falling on the road to Utah, leaving a slot in the top four for another team to, at least for now, have their aspirations realized.
Attention will also be paid to teams outside of the temporary playoff teams, as four total schools (Oregon, Wake Forest, Michigan State and Arkansas) are set to drop following their losses over the weekend, with Michigan State (No. 7) and Wake Forest (No. 10) leaving the door open for teams to make moves into the top 10.
College Football Playoff Projections: Week 13
Top 4
1. Georgia Bulldogs
2. Alabama Crimson Tide
3. Ohio State Buckeyes
4. Cincinnati Bearcats
Comments: With Georgia easily being No. 1, the conversation surrounding this week's College Football Playoff rankings begins at No. 2. Although Ohio State has turned a corner following their impressive win over Michigan State, will it be enough to leapfrog Alabama, which won a close game over Arkansas?
Many believe so, yet we're not quite sure the committee will be wanting to punish a Crimson Tide team that still handled business against a ranked opponent. As for Cincinnati, it will be interesting to see how the committee will rank the Bearcats, especially with Ohio State and Michigan squaring off this week.
If Cincinnati slides into the top four, the Bearcats will have a strong argument to remain in the playoffs if they finish the season without a loss. We'll see if politics play any part in this week's rankings.
Top 5-10
5. Michigan Wolverines
6. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
7. Oklahoma State Cowboys
8. Baylor Bears
9. Oregon Ducks
10. Ole Miss Rebels
Comments: The committee likely won't put Michigan in the top four, yet the Wolverines will get their chance this weekend in a highly anticipated matchup with Ohio State. Should Michigan win, the Wolverines will surely enter the playoff conversation and would lock up a spot with a Big Ten conference championship.
Notre Dame's path is still prominent, and would benefit greatly from the Wolverines losing. The head-to-head loss to Cincinnati earlier in the season means everyone in South Bend are huge ECU fans this weekend.
Oklahoma State, Baylor and Ole Miss advance following wins over the weekend, while Oregon plummets to No. 9 after its loss to Utah. It remains to be seen if the Ducks will remain in the top 10, yet the committee may not want to punish Oregon for losing to a tough team on the road.
Rest of College Football Playoff Projections
11. Oklahoma Sooners
12. Michigan State Spartans
13. BYU Cougars
14. Wisconsin Badgers
15. Texas A&M Aggies
16. Iowa Hawkeyes
17. Utah Utes
18. Wake Forest Demon Deacons
19. Pitt Panthers
20. San Diego State Aztecs
21. NC State Wolfpack
22. UTSA Roadrunners
23. Houston Cougars
24. Mississippi State Bulldogs
25. Arkansas Razorbacks
Comment: Not a great deal of change here for the rest of the field. Michigan State and Wake Forest's slide stops in their respective places. Utah sees a nice jump following its win over Oregon, while Arkansas remains in the rankings due to putting up quite the fight against Alabama.