College football rankings: Coaches Poll top 25 for Week 12 announced
Another weekend of the college football season is in the books and now it's time to get a look at the updated top 25 rankings from around the country.
First up: the Coaches Poll.
The coaches have some work to do in re-ordering their top 25 this week after three teams in the top 15 of the College Football Playoff rankings went down, with eight ranked teams taking the L on Saturday altogether.
That included a pair of Pac-12 contenders who were hoping to use the later part of the season to make a run at the conference title and impress the playoff selection committee, but who kiboshed those chances with costly losses at home.
Where do things stand now with just two games left in the regular season?
Here's your look at the latest top 25 rankings, according to the coaches' vote.
College football rankings: Coaches Poll top 25 for Week 12 announced
Coaches Poll top 25 college football rankings
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- Georgia (61 1st-place votes)
- Ohio State (1)
- Michigan (1)
- TCU
- Tennessee
- USC
- LSU
- Alabama
- Clemson
- Utah
- North Carolina
- Penn State
- Oregon
- Ole Miss
- Washington
- UCLA
- Kansas State
- UCF
- Notre Dame
- Florida State
- Cincinnati
- Tulane
- Coastal Carolina
- Oklahoma State
- NC State
Others receiving votes
Texas 76; Oregon State 62; Illinois 48; UTSA 40; Troy 32; Minnesota 30; Duke 24; Liberty 9; Pittsburgh 8; Kentucky 8; Florida 8; Boise State 5; Air Force 5; Wake Forest 3; South Alabama 2; Toledo 1.
Coaches Poll biggest movers
NC State (Down 9). The loss at home to BC revealed a lack of offensive capacity without Devin Leary under center.
Florida State (Up 11). Two big wins have the Seminoles looking good, plus their win over LSU now looks better, too.
Oregon (Down 7). The Ducks are out of playoff contention after a close loss to Washington after some questionable late-game decisions.
Washington (Up 8). The Huskies profit from that win at Oregon after Michael Penix threw for over 400 yards and two touchdowns.
Four teams that dropped from the rankings: No. 18 Texas, No. 19 Liberty, No. 20 Illinois, No. 24 Kentucky
College football top 25 losers
Rankings reflect College Football Playoff
No. 6 Oregon. A back and forth affair at Autzen went in Washington's favor thanks to the Huskies' aggressive passing offense and the Ducks' relative inability to stop it, and with that goes Oregon's (and maybe the Pac-12's) shot at the College Football Playoff, not to mention Bo Nix's Heisman Trophy hype after such a brilliant season up to now.
No. 11 Ole Miss. This was one Lane Kiffin and this program really wants back. A strong performance from running back Quinshon Judkins had the Rebels within striking distance to take down Alabama, but Jaxson Dart's last-ditch pass fell incomplete, dropping Ole Miss to an 8-2 mark, and likely handing the Crimson Tide a decent New Year's bowl bid in the process.
No. 12 UCLA. Being a double-digit favorite at home against an Arizona team that hasn't defeated a ranked team since 2014 is a game you just have to win. But the Bruins had no answer for Jayden de Laura as the Wildcats quarterback ran wild and now after taking this costly L, the Pac-12 loses another shot at the College Football Playoff.
No. 16 NC State. The 2-win Eagles get their first win over a team in the top 25 rankings since 2014 by upsetting the Wolfpack, who scored just six points from the second quarter onward as quarterback MJ Morris hit just 50% of his passes for 135 yards and the Pack lost four turnovers while failing to surpass 340 total yards. NC State falls to 3-3 in ACC play and lost two of its last four.
No. 17 Tulane. With a golden opportunity to strengthen their hold on the top spot in the AAC at home against challenger UCF, the Green Wave stumbled out of the gate, surrendering 17 first quarter points and didn't really have an answer for Knights quarterback John Rhys Plumlee, who ran for almost 200 yards and 2 scores, including a long 67-yarder, while passing for a third. Tulane tacked on a pair of TDs in the fourth, but by then it was too late.
No. 18 Texas. The Longhorns' offense took the week off, but its defense made it interesting with a late touchdown. Still, it wasn't enough to hold off TCU at home, and now the Steve Sarkisian experience shifts into neutral at 11-11 overall.
No. 21 Illinois. Make it two straight Ls for a team that appeared to have the Big Ten West title sewn up, this time a 7-point decision to Purdue. Illinois still has the tiebreaker over Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, but lost the No. 1 spot in the division to the Boilermakers with this loss, and there are questions about lead rusher Chase Brown after he went down with a leg injury. And now comes a trip to undefeated Michigan.
No. 24 Kentucky. The looming subplot in the SEC the last few years was which team was going to let Vanderbilt snap its long conference losing streak. The answer was Kentucky, which allowed Vandy to convert a late fourth down and then score the winning touchdown at home, allowing the Commodores to snap a 26-game losing skid in SEC games. UK is now 6-4.
Undefeated college football teams remaining
And then there were four
Georgia (10-0). College football's defending national champions took care of business against Mississippi State, clinching the SEC East and setting up a date with LSU in the SEC Championship Game.
Ohio State (10-0). An easy win for the Buckeyes at home over Indiana to stay perfect, but they're dealing with depth issues at running back thanks to injuries suffered by both their top two options.
Michigan (10-0). For the first time since 2006, the Wolverines are a perfect 10-0 and now have a date against a reeling Illinois at home next weekend.
TCU (10-0). The Horned Frogs did it with their defense on the road against Texas, which was a concern for the playoff selection committee, and booked a trip to the Big 12 Championship Game in the process.
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