College football rankings: Predicting the CFP top 25 poll entering Bowl Season
As the dust settles around the latest slate of games on Friday and Saturday, let's look ahead to the final CFP top 25 college football rankings
College Football Playoff Selection Sunday is up next after the events of Championship Week that sorted out the conference title races and now we look ahead to bowl season and semifinal and from there, the national championship
Note: this isn't our ranking of the best teams, but our prediction for how top 25 voters will slot them in the official rankings
College football rankings: Predicting the CFP top 25 poll heading into Bowl Season
Predicting the CFP top 25 college football rankings
25. NC State. No expected change for the Wolfpack, who should stay put at the bottom of the rankings awaiting a bowl game.
24. UCF. A shot at a New Year's bowl went up in smoke after losing to Tulane in the AAC Championship Game, but at 9-4 it might be enough to stay in the rankings.
23. UTSA. Frank Harris threw for 341 yards with four touchdowns as the Roadrunners routed North Texas for the Conference USA championship, moving to 11-2.
22. Mississippi State. The Bulldogs finish the season at 8-4 and moved into the rankings after their statement win over rival Ole Miss on Thanksgiving.
21. Notre Dame. A five-game win streak ended at USC, and now the Irish are about to lose quarterback Drew Pyne to the transfer portal, but there's a lot to build on here.
20. Texas. Denied a chance to play for the Big 12 title, the Longhorns finish the season at 8-4 and with an important win over Baylor at home in the finale.
19. South Carolina. Sitting at 8-4 to end the regular season and moving into the rankings after huge wins over Tennessee and Clemson, both AP top 10 teams at the time of their games.
18. UCLA. The Bruins couldn't knock off rival USC, but they took care of business against Cal last week to finish at 9-3.
17. Oregon. The Ducks won 8 straight midseason but lost two of the last three to put a damper on an otherwise notable debut for head coach Dan Lanning.
16. Oregon State. That huge win at home against Oregon to finish the year looms large and sets a good foundation to build on, but without quarterback Chance Nolan, who enters the transfer portal.
15. LSU. Allowing 50 to Georgia in the SEC title game wasn't a great look, but the offense never gave up and it looks like the Tigers have a solid piece in Garrett Nussmeier at quarterback going forward.
14. Tulane. The new AAC champions are set to take the Group of Five's New Year's bowl bid after a big win over UCF, headed to the Cotton Bowl.
13. Florida State. For the first time since 2016, the Seminoles won more than 8 games, doing it behind a stout rushing performance.
12. Washington. The Huskies put up over 700 total yards against rival Washington State to take the Apple Cup to end the regular season and now await their bowl assignment.
11. Penn State. Looks like the Nittany Lions are heading to the Rose Bowl as the next-best option in the Big Ten with OSU and Michigan likely both heading to the College Football Playoff.
10. Kansas State. The line moved steadily in the Wildcats favor leading up to the Big 12 title game until they were named favorites right at kickoff. Hours later, K-State knocked off College Football Playoff favorite TCU in overtime to win the conference championship.
9. Tennessee. College football's top offense stumbled late in the season with losses to Georgia and South Carolina, but there's still a New Year's bowl bid in the Vols' future, likely the Orange.
8. USC. Given how poor the Trojans looked against Utah, top 25 voters could drop them far enough to fall behind the Utes, especially given that truly inexcusable defensive performance.
7. Utah. After falling behind early in the Pac-12 title bout against USC, the Utes rebounded in a huge way, going on a 44-7 scoring run in the comeback to take the league crown and knock the Trojans out of the College Football Playoff.
6. Alabama. AP and CFP voters both kept the Tide ahead of the Volunteers despite the head-to-head results and others against common opponents and ranked teams, but even so Bama isn't going to the playoff this year.
5. Clemson. There are few things the College Football Playoff selection committee loves more than winning a conference championship and that's what Clemson in in very convincing fashion after finally making the switch at quarterback.
4. Ohio State. Thanks to USC's loss in the Pac-12 title game, the Buckeyes should jump back into the College Football Playoff as the best remaining option despite not playing for a league title. Moreover, the committee may want to avoid an OSU-Michigan rematch in the semifinal, so could put the Bucks in at 4 despite TCU's loss.
3. TCU. We project the CFP committee will keep the Horned Frogs at 3 given that they played in a conference championship game, something the selectors place a heavy premium on, especially given TCU played the game so close.
2. Michigan. An impressive showing against Purdue in the Big Ten Championship Game confirms what we already knew, that the Wolverines are the No. 2 seed.
1. Georgia. No real worries for the Bulldogs in a dominant performance over LSU in the SEC Championship Game, moving to 13-0 for the first time, and the lock of locks for the No. 1 seed moving into the semifinal.
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