After each week of the college football season, a fresh set of rankings drop, highlighting the Top 25 teams in the nation. There are two major polls used in the college football, the AP Poll voted on by members of the media, and the Coaches Poll voted on by, well you can probably figure that one out. Now that we have reached November, the College Football Playoff rankings are out and take over as the top billed ranking in college football for the rest of the season.
Two more unbeatens fall in Week 12 and cause a bit of a shakeup in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, but the three remaining undefeated sides still hold steady at the top with two weeks of regular season play left. All five major conference remain in contention to have a team in the playoff, but with only four spots up for grabs, someone will be left out in the cold.
College Football Playoff
Dropped from rankings: Texas 19, Navy 23, Kansas State 24
No change among the top seven teams from last week, with Louisiana State, Ohio State, Clemson, and Georgia currently occupying the four playoff spots. Alabama still sits in the No. 5 spot but knows it needs a lot of help down the stretch if it hopes to make the playoff once again. PAC-12 sides Oregon and Utah sit sixth and seventh respectively, still on track for a showdown in the conference title game in about two and a half weeks.
Penn State bounced back from its to Minnesota with a win over Indiana and jumped up a spot to No. 8 in part because the Golden Gophers fell from the ranks of the unbeaten with a loss against Iowa. Also benefiting from the Gophers misfortune was Oklahoma, who staged an epic comeback over previously unbeaten Baylor to move into the No. 9 slot.
Speaking of Minnesota and Baylor, the two cinderella stories both fell in the rankings after losing, but still remain in decent position to be in the playoff discussion should they run the table. The Gophers currently sit at No. 10 in the latest ranking while the Bears come in at No. 14.
Florida, Michigan, and Auburn all still sit comfortably inside the Top 15 at the moment but have little to no hope of making the playoff come season’s end. The same can be said for two loss Notre Dame at No. 16, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility those sides could make a New Year’s Six bowl game.
In the battle of Group of 5 teams fighting it out for that coveted New Year’s Six spot, American Conference foes Memphis and Cincinnati still sit in the best position to claim the spot and they remain on track for a meeting in the American Conference title game. If they both enter that game 11-1, the winner should safely be into the NY6.
Texas, Navy, and Kansas State all tumbled from the CFP rankings this week, replaced by Iowa State, Southern California, and Southern Methodist.
AP Poll
Others receiving votes: Indiana 47, Iowa State 31, Virginia 23, Navy 13, Air Force 12, Pittsburgh 9, San Diego State 7, USC 6, Washington 6, Texas 4, Illinois 1, North Dakota State 1
Dropped from rankings: Navy 21, Texas 22, Indiana 24
The three remaining undefeated sides make up the top three spots in the AP Poll, with Louisiana State still holding onto the top spot ahead of Ohio State and Clemson. Georgia rolled over Auburn and jumped Alabama for the No. 4 spot while the Tide will settle in at No. 5 for this week.
This week’s biggest dropper is Minnesota who tumbled four spot to No. 11 after suffering its first loss of the season at the hands of Iowa who were conversely the biggest gainer this week, rising four spots to No. 19.
Utah, Oklahoma, and Florida all benefited from the Golden Gophers loss, each climbing up the standings, and for Florida, back into the Top 10. Sandwiched between those three sides is Penn State who held steady at No. 9 following a victory over Indiana on Saturday.
Baylor joined Minnesota is falling from the ranks of the unbeaten after blowing a big lead and losing to Oklahoma on Saturday night. Even with the loss, the Bears only fell a single spot to No. 13, a slide which let Michigan hop to No. 12.
Further down the poll, Auburn tumbled three spots after losing to Georgia, pushing Wisconsin and Notre Dame slightly upwards to No. 14 and No. 15 respectively. The American Conference pair of Cincinnati and Memphis held steady at No. 17 and No. 18.
Navy, Texas, and Indiana all lost and subsequently fell from the rankings this week. They were replaced by a trio of Appalachian State, Texas A&M, and Virginia Tech.
For a closer look on how media members voted individually, check the image below.
Coaches Poll
Others receiving votes: Virginia Tech 46, Air Force 43, Indiana 39, Navy 25, Virginia 20, Louisiana Tech 10, Louisiana 8, Pittsburgh 7, USC 3, Wake Forest 2, Temple 1, Kansas State 1
Dropped from rankings: Navy 21, Texas 23, Indiana 25
Wrapping up with a brief look at the Coaches Poll for this week, the Top 6 teams are identical to the AP Poll with the first deviation coming at No. 7 where the coaches placed Oklahoma rather than Utah who come in at No. 8 this week.
Remarkably, after the Oklahoma/Utah switch, the two polls are exact in their rankings from Penn State at No. 9 all the way to Memphis at No. 18 before they place Boise State at No. 19 instead of Iowa who comes in at No. 20 in the Coaches Poll.
Again sticking with the AP Poll, Navy, Texas, and Indiana all dropped from the rankings after losing on Saturday. Where the Coaches diverge from the AP is in which teams replaced the three that left. Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, and San Diego State all jumped into the rankings this week.
Top 25 Schedule: Week 13
Let’s take a quick peek at who the Top 25 teams will be playing in Week 13.
Note: Team rankings are based on the College Football Playoff standings.
Only one ranked matchup this week but it will have major playoff implications regardless of result. No. 2 Ohio State, arguably the most impressive team in the country this season, welcomes No. 8 Penn State to Columbus with a spot in the Big Ten title game on the line. That is a noon kickoff and what better way to start your Saturday than with a marquee matchup between two playoff hopefuls.
In total, 23 of the 25 teams currently ranked in the College Football Playoff rankings are in action this weekend meaning an upset anywhere could throw everything into total chaos entering the final week of the regular season. The playoff favorites may not have marquee matchups on the schedule (OSU/PSU excluded), but if they hope to make the playoff, they need to win the games they are supposed to win.
Each and every week throughout the college football season we will be checking in with the latest rankings and Top 25 schedule so make sure you are checking back to keep up to date on the latest from the college football world.
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