Another week, another ranking. There were relatively few top-25 matchups this week and most of the top teams were able to avoid upsets, so the rankings didn't change much this week - especially at the top.
We all enjoy arguing over rankings, but for the most part that's all they're good for. The only ratings that matter are the CFP rankings, and even then it only matters if you're in the top 4 (playoff spot) or top 11 (New Years Six bowl). Otherwise, it's purely about bragging rights (or fodder for conspiracy theories, media bias, etc).
But in any case, we know that rankings are inherently subjective. Different voters put different weights on different metrics. Should late season games matter more than the first few weeks? How much does head-to-head matter? How much should a "bad loss" count against a team? These are all things that have to be considered, and reasonable people can disagree. With that said, here are my rankings. Let me know your thoughts below.
1) Georgia (11-0) Not much needs to be said. Georgia is looking close to unstoppable right now. (Last week: 1)
2) Ohio State (11-0) Another week, another win over an overmatched Big Ten opponent. (Last week: 2)
3) Washington (11-0) I keep expecting them to lose, and they keep proving me wrong. They just need to get through the Apple Cup and then they'll have a chance to play themselves into the CFP by winning the Pac-12 championship game (Last week: 3)
4) Michigan (11-0) Every team has close calls, but it's not a good look to get pushed to the wire by an unranked opponent this late in the season. (Last week: 4)
5) Florida State (11-0) The Seminoles don't have a ranked win since week one (LSU). But the loss of their star QB is even more concerning. Will they survive the next two games against Florida and Louisville? (Last week: 5)
6) Texas (10-1) Waiting in the wings for Georgia or Florida State to slip up - and we already know either Ohio State or Michigan will pick up another loss. It would be hard to keep a 12-1 Big 12 Champ Texas out of the CFP, especially with their Alabama win as a trump card. (Last week: 6)
7) Alabama (10-1) Very simple. Beat Auburn and Georgia, and they'll make the CFP. Or is that simple? It's hard to imagine Alabama leapfrogging Texas, Florida State, or Washington if all those teams win out. So they still might need some help. (Last week: 7)
8) Oregon (10-1) I've said it before, but I'm surprised that the CFP has Oregon ranked above Texas and Alabama. Did you know Oregon doesn't even have a ranked win? Their best win is Utah, and that one is looking less impressive following their blowout loss to Arizona. (Last week: 8)
9) Louisville (10-1) Could they sneak into the CFP discussion if they beat Kentucky and Florida State? Maybe with some help. (Last week: 9)
10) Ole Miss (9-2) They beat LSU, and LSU beat Missouri. But to be honest, I'm not sure that Ole Miss would be favored over either right now. (Last week: 10)
11) LSU (8-3) All three of their losses were against top ten teams, and as mentioned above I think they should be ranked above Missouri based on their head-to-head matchup. (Last week: 11)
12) Missouri (9-2) After shellacking Tennessee, Missouri had a little more trouble than expected with Florida. (Last week: 13)
13) Oklahoma (9-2) They need some help to get into the Big 12 Championship game. Even at 10-2 (and 7-2 in conference) they'll likely be on the outside looking in. (Last week: 14)
14) Arizona (8-3) The Wildcats have now won five straight. If it wasn't for two overtime losses earlier in the season, this could easily be a top ten team. (Last week: 21)
15) Penn State (9-2) Rutgers was not much of a challenge, but apparently that's what counts as a test in the Big Ten these days. (Last week: 15)
16) Oregon State (8-3) There is no shame in losing a close game to undefeated Washington, but their marquee win over Utah took a hit this week. (Last week: 12)
17) Notre Dame (8-3) Surprisingly, NC State is now their best win following the late season collapses of both USC and Duke. (Last week: 17)
18) Oklahoma State (8-3) Assuming they get past BYU this week, Oklahoma State will most likely get a shot at Texas in the Big 12 championship game. (Last week: 18)
19) Kansas State (8-3) They picked up a nice win over rival Kansas, and all three of their losses are to ranked teams. (Last week: 24)
20) NC State (8-3) Winners of four straight after an embarrassing loss to Duke, they wrap up with in-state rival UNC this week. (Last week: unranked)
21) Clemson (7-4) Welcome back to the rankings. It has been a tough season, but they deserve credit for recent wins over Notre Dame and North Carolina (Last week: unranked)
22) Kansas (7-4) Aside from an early season blowout to Texas, their other three losses have been by one score - and they did beat Oklahoma. (Last week: 22)
23) Iowa (9-2) They don't have a ranked win and got blown out 31-0 by the one decent team they've played all year (Penn State). But winning is still winning, even if it's ugly. (Last week: unranked)
24) North Carolina (8-3) After starting out 6-0, North Carolina has lost three of its last five. We'll see if they can turn things around against NC State this week. (Last week: 19)
25) Liberty (11-0) Liberty deserves credit for going undefeated even if it's against a weak schedule. (Last week: unranked)
Loading comments...