This week, the top four in the College Football Playoff committee poll remained unchanged: Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan and TCU. Michigan and TCU needed last-second field goals to hold off upsets and keep perfect records. LSU rose all the way to #5 despite having two losses, thanks to their win over Alabama and their SEC West title. USC went up to #6 after holding off UCLA, 48-45, at the Rose Bowl. Tennessee got embarrassed at South Carolina, 63-38, and will become only the second team that started the CFP rankings at #1 but did not make the national semifinal. Clemson sits at #8 after winning a pair of games by at least 25 points, but somehow Alabama remains at #7, as Nick Saban’s history does a lot more for the team than its play on the field; that loss to Tennessee should be devastating now after the Volunteers’ game on Saturday. Even so, here is the newest set of rankings, along with some College Football betting insights that you can use.
NCAA News: College Football Top 25 and Betting Opportunities
#1 Georgia Bulldogs
#2 Ohio State Buckeyes
#3 Michigan Wolverines
#4 TCU Horned Frogs
#5 LSU Tigers
#6 USC Trojans
#7 Alabama Crimson Tide
#8 Clemson Tigers
#9 Oregon Ducks
#10 Tennessee Volunteers
#11 Penn State Nittany Lions
#12 Kansas State Wildcats
#13 Washington Huskies
#14 Utah Utes
#15 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
#16 Florida State Seminoles
#17 North Carolina Tar Heels
#18 UCLA Bruins
#19 Tulane Green Wave
#20 Ole Miss Rebels
#21 Oregon State Beavers
#22 UCF Golden Knights
#23 Texas Longhorns
#24 Cincinnati Bearcats
#25 Louisville Cardinals
One excellent question is why USC sits behind a two-loss LSU team. However, USC had not beaten a ranked team until this past week, when they stopped UCLA. If the Trojans keep winning next week, they will take down a second ranked team as they face Notre Dame. LSU takes on woeful Texas A&M that week, so if the Trojans pick up a quality win, you could see 5 and 6 switch. You might even see USC jump to #4 if TCU loses to Iowa State, or if the Horned Frogs fool around and put together another underwhelming win against another team nowhere near the top 25. Iowa State is 4-7 (1-7 Big 12), but four of those losses have come by a combined 14 points.
Clemson will have a difficult time getting to the playoff, as their schedule doesn’t really have a big win left on it. They face South Carolina in a non-conference game this weekend, but even after demolishing Tennessee, the Gamecocks do not represent a quality opponent. The ACC Championship pits the Tigers against North Carolina, and then the Tigers would finish 12-1. If USC and LSU lose and if TCU puts together another couple of middling wins, then the Tigers would have a shot, but that would take a lot of maneuvering.
Penn State is another two-loss team that simply cannot climb the ladder thanks to a lack of quality victories. Their losses came to Ohio State and Michigan, but their best win came from the opener, when they beat Purdue on the road. Teams that are sticking to soft non-conference schedules are feeling the pain as they approach bowl seeding time and find those choices have not given them the boost they had hoped.
What on earth is Alabama doing at #7? They are three spots ahead of Tennessee, who beat Alabama a few weeks ago. Yes, the Volunteers had a terrible Week 12, but that still does not make a lot of sense. The Crimson Tide have had a hard time beating Texas, Arkansas, Texas A&M and Ole Miss this year. The committee uses “game control” as a metric, but Alabama has fought hard to control games, even the ones they have won. So what we see is the Tide getting a high ranking because of who they are, not because of what they have done.
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