College football never seems to disappoint and that has been true so far in 2023 as well. The regular season is now over, and with Ohio State losing to Michigan, there’s going to be a bit of a shakeup at the top that the College Football Playoff committee will have to sort out.
It’ll be very telling on whether the Buckeyes can still crash the CFP party based upon how far OSU falls in the rankings that are released on Tuesday. And while Ohio State was losing its way against Michigan, the other top contenders like Georgia, Washington, Florida State, Oregon, Texas, and Alabama all won — albeit some in dramatic fashion. You have to expect all of those teams will remain in the mix as we head into the conference championship games next weekend.
We do our best to try and sort out what the CFP committee will do after each week’s set of games and we’ve been pretty good at it so far, so why not continue those efforts.
Here’s our prediction on what the College Football Playoff rankings could look like when the committee unveils the fifth set of rankings on Tuesday with the regular season coming to a close.
25
Liberty Flames (12-0)
Remaining Schedule
| Date | Opponent |
| 12/2 | vs. New Mexico State (Conference USA Championship) |
Last Week’s CFP Ranking: 25
Last Result: Won at UTEP, 42-28
24
Kansas State Wildcats (8-4)
Remaining Schedule
| Date | Opponent |
| TBD | TBD Bowl |
Last Week’s CFP Ranking: 19
Last Result: Lost vs, Iowa State, 42-35
23
Clemson Tigers (8-4)
Remaining Schedule
| Date | Opponent |
| TBD | TBD Bowl |
Last Week’s CFP Ranking: 24
Last Result: Won at South Carolina, 16-7
22
Tulane Green Wave (11-1)
Remaining Schedule
| Date | Opponent |
| 12/2 | vs. SMU (American Championship) |
Last Week’s CFP Ranking: 23
Last Result: Won vs. UTSA, 29-16
21
Oregon State Beavers (8-4)
Remaining Schedule
| Date | Opponent |
| TBD | TBD Bowl |
Last Week’s CFP Ranking: 16
Last Result: Lost at Oregon, 31-7
20
NC State (9-3)
Remaining Schedule
| Date | Opponent |
| TBD | TBD Bowl |
Last Week’s CFP Ranking: 22
Last Result: Won vs. North Carolina, 39-20
19
Tennessee Volunteers (8-4)
Remaining Schedule
| Date | Opponent |
| TBD | TBD Bowl |
Last Week’s CFP Ranking: 21
Last Result: Won vs. Vanderbilt, 48-24
18
Oklahoma State (9-3)
Remaining Schedule
| Date | Opponent |
| 12/2 | vs. Texas (Big 12 Championship) |
Last Week’s CFP Ranking: 20
Last Result: Won vs. BYU, 40-34
17
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (9-3)
Remaining Schedule
| Date | Opponent |
| TBD | TBD Bowl |
Last Week’s CFP Ranking: 18
Last Result: Won at Stanford, 56-23
16
Louisville Cardinals (10-2)
Remaining Schedule
| Date | Opponent |
| 12/2 | vs. Florida State (ACC Championship) |
Last Week’s CFP Ranking: 10
Last Result: Lost vs. Kentucky, 38-31
15
Iowa Hawkeyes (10-2)
Remaining Schedule
| Date | Opponent |
| 12/2 | vs. Michigan (Big Ten Championship) |
Last Week’s CFP Ranking: 17
Last Result: Won vs. Nebraska, 13-10
14
Arizona Wildcats (9-3)
Remaining Schedule
| Date | Opponent |
| TBD | TBD Bowl |
Last Week’s CFP Ranking: 15
Last Result: Won at Arizona State, 59-23
13
LSU Tigers (9-3)
Remaining Schedule
| Date | Opponent |
| TBD | TBD |
Last Week’s CFP Ranking: 14
Last Result: Won vs. Texas A&M, 42-30
12
Oklahoma Sooners (10-2)
Remaining Schedule
| Date | Opponent |
| TBD | TBD Bowl |
Last Week’s CFP Ranking: 13
Last Result: Won vs. TCU, 69-45
11
Ole Miss Rebels (10-2)
Remaining Schedule
| Date | Opponent |
| TBD | TBD Bowl |
Last Week’s CFP Ranking: 12
Last Result: Won at Mississippi State, 17-7
10
Penn State Nittany Lions (10-2)
Remaining Schedule
| Date | Opponent |
| TBD | TBD Bowl |
Last Week’s CFP Ranking: 11
Last Result: Won at Michigan State, 42-0
Why the Ranking
Penn State should be welcomed back to the top ten because of the loss by Louisville. Do the Nittany Lions deserve even more credit with both losses coming against two of the best teams in the country (Michigan and Ohio State)? There’s no chance at the playoff but Penn State should be headed to a New Year’s Six bowl game.
9
Missouri Tigers (10-2)
Remaining Schedule
| Date | Opponent |
| TBD | TBD Bowl |
Last Week’s CFP Ranking: 9
Last Result: Won at Arkansas, 33-31
Why the Ranking
Missouri annihilated Arkansas on the road but there’s no room to move up because of what the teams ahead of the Tigers have done. It’s still a great season and the only two losses have been against two highly ranked SEC teams (Georgia and LSU). A New Year’s Six bowl is likely awaiting when it’s all said and done.
8
Alabama Crimson Tide (11-1)
Remaining Schedule
| Date | Opponent |
| 12/2 | vs, Georgia (SEC Championship) |
Last Week’s CFP Ranking: 8
Last Result: Won at Auburn, 27-24
Why the Ranking
Alabama’s miracle finish keeps its College Football Playoff hopes alive. Texas is keeping the Tide from moving up because of the head-to-head, but should Alabama find a way to beat Georgia in the SEC Championship game, it’s hard to see how it misses the four-team field.
7
Texas Longhorns (11-1)
Remaining Schedule
| Date | Opponent |
| 12/2 | vs. Oklahoma State (Big 12 Championship) |
Last Week’s CFP Ranking: 7
Last Result: Won vs. Texas Tech, 57-7
Why the Ranking
The Longhorns curb stomped Texas Tech on Saturday but have been wrestling victories out of the jaws of defeat prior to that. Win the Big 12 Championship game and Texas will probably climb over Ohio State as an extra data point.
6
Ohio State Buckeyes (11-1)
Remaining Schedule
| Date | Opponent |
| TDB | Bowl |
Last Week’s CFP Ranking: 2
Last Result: Lost at Michigan, 37-3
Why the Ranking
A loss on the road to a rival, especially one that’s most likely going to be a top two ranked loss won’t result in the Buckeyes falling too far, but there’s just too many teams still out there with no losses and one team (Oregon) that the CFP committee is falling in love with when it comes to the eye test. OSU will need some serious help to get into the College Football Playoff.
5
Oregon Ducks (11-1)
Remaining Schedule
| Date | Opponent |
| 12/1 | vs. Washington (Pac-12 Championship) |
Last Week’s CFP Ranking: 6
Last Result: Won vs. Oregon State, 31-7
Why the Ranking
Oregon is going to be a great case study between eye test and resume because the Ducks have just one win over a current ranked opponent. If Ohio State lands ahead of Oregon on Tuesday, winning against quality competition counts more than the eye test. If not, the committee simply believes the Ducks are dominant based on what they’ve seen when turning the games on. We say its the latter.
4
Florida State Seminoles (12-0)
Remaining Schedule
| Date | Opponent |
| 12/2 | vs. Louisville (ACC Championship) |
Last Week’s CFP Ranking: 5
Last Result: Won at Florida, 24-15
WHy the Ranking
The Seminoles just keep winning but the game control and eye test hasn’t been very impressive. As long as they can take care of business against Louisville on Saturday, they’ll be in the playoff. However, can Florida State pull it off without Jordan Travis?
3
Washington Huskies (12-0)
Remaining Schedule
| Date | Opponent |
| 12/1 | vs. Oregon (Pac-12 Championship) |
Last Week’s CFP Ranking: 4
Last Result: Won vs. Washington State, 24-21
Why the Ranking
The Huskies sure have struggled to win in controlling fashion the last few weeks, but the wins are still coming. The head-to-head win over Oregon still looms large and is acting as a bit of a backstop at the moment. Next Friday will be huge.
2
Michigan Wolverines (12-0)
Remaining Schedule
| Date | Opponent |
| 12/2 | vs. Iowa (Big Ten Championship) |
Last Week’s CFP Ranking: 3
Last Result: Won vs. Ohio State, 30-24
Why the Ranking
Obviously, Michigan will move up ahead of Ohio State. The CFP committee will discuss whether the Wolverines should be moved to No. 1, but the two wins over the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions won’t be enough when compared with Georgia’s ranked wins coming out of the SEC.
1
Georgia Bulldogs (12-0)
Remaining Schedule
| Date | Opponent |
| 12/2 | vs. Alabama (SEC Championship) |
Last Week’s CFP Ranking: 1
Last Result: Won at Georgia Tech, 31-23
Why the Ranking
Michigan will have a case for moving up to No. 1 over Georgia after the win vs. No. 2 Ohio State, but the Dawgs have separated themselves prior and still have a better overall body of work. Plus, we’ve mentioned ad nauseum the unintended SEC bias that will be in play.
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