Saturday’s 8 or so biggest College Football Playoff rankings impacts
A lighter weekend of college football, but shakeups will still strike the Playoff top 25. Full FBS final scores for Week 13 below.
Unbeaten FSU has already been jumped twice in the Playoff rankings by one-loss teams. While it’s hard to imagine it happening again, the Noles didn’t make up any ground by winning tight against another lesser team, especially with No. 2 Oregon breezing past Colorado, 44-10. Two more wins, against Florida and Georgia Tech, and FSU’s ranking doesn’t matter, though.
The top tier in the Playoff rankings -- Alabama, Oregon, and FSU -- is nothing but win-and-you’re-in teams. The next four -- Mississippi State, TCU, Ohio State, and Baylor -- entered Saturday jockeying for one spot. Every little bit counts for each of those teams, and with the committee referencing the concept of “controlling the game” last Tuesday, a 20-14 deficit against a bad Hoosiers team with 18 minutes to go will not help the Buckeyes much (TCU fell from No. 4 to 5 after a similar performance against Kansas). Don’t blame me for this if you do not like it.
(Likely worse for OSU: that loss to Virginia Tech is officially a SUPER BAD LOSS again, with the Hokies losing to lowly Wake Forest.)
To say the very least, the SEC West’s slim chance of getting a two-loss team into the Playoff is done. The ranked team with the most to gain here is No. 10 Georgia, which blew out the Hogs and didn’t play the Rebels -- the four other teams that beat Arkansas also play Ole Miss, so their resumes don’t change much.
And don’t be stunned if the Hogs rank No. 25 or so.
Hey look, the Bruins are gonna be No. 8 and the top-ranked two-loss team. Absolutely not out of the Playoff race, despite being out of the AP poll only about a month ago. Even UCLA’s weird nailbiters against Memphis and Virginia are looking fine; the Tigers reached 8-3, and UVA might make a bowl.
As for how this shakes out, the Bruins clinch a rematch with Oregon if they beat Stanford. If they lose, then Arizona’s state champ goes.
Pac-12 South title chances by @SBN_BillC: "If ASU/Arizona/UCLA win Saturday: UCLA 77.4%, ASU 13.9%, Arizona 8.7%" http://t.co/TX2ALnB7wp
— SB✯Nation CFB (@SBNationCFB) November 23, 2014 With a win over Arizona State, a UCLA win over USC, and a UCLA loss to Stanford, the Wildcats win the Pac-12 South. Oregon will be down a ranked win if the Utes leave the top 25, but its loss to Arizona continues to look respectable.
Mizzou hangs around in the rankings, but the big takeaway is that the Tigers are still in the SEC East race. Mizzou must beat Arkansas next week, or Georgia takes it. Beat Arkansas? Sounds easy!
The Huskers’ exit will open up a spot. And set Bo Pelini’s seat ablaze, but what else is new? No. 5 TCU and Ohio State each retains a win against a ranked opponent (a bad thing for Baylor), while No. 11 Michigan State and No. 16 Wisconsin lose theirs.
Also, with No. 16 Wisconsin beating Iowa, 26-24, next week’s battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe is also the battle for the Big Ten West.
Marshall 23, UAB 18
Will a close road win against a potential bowl team be enough for the 11-0 Herd to crack the rankings? Probably not! Remember No. 4 MSU only beat UAB by 13 points in Starkville, though.
Colorado State 58, New Mexico 20
If that doesn’t suit the committee’s fancy, how about 10-1 CSU?
Boise State 63, Wyoming 14
The non-power that already had the best resume, based on the committee’s criteria, was the Broncos. However, that record suffered this week, considering BSU lost to a version of the Ole Miss team that Arkansas just stomped out and to an Air Force team that lost to San Diego State on Friday night. Still, 63 points!
Maryland 23, Michigan 16
The Terps are a longshot to crack the rankings, but there really aren’t a whole lot of options to move up. They’re now 7-4, with three of those losses to ranked teams.
Full FBS final scores
No. 1 Alabama 48, Western Carolina 14 (recap)
No. 2 Oregon 44, Colorado 10 (recap)
No. 3 Florida State 20, Boston College 17 (recap)
No. 4 Mississippi State 51, Vanderbilt 0 (recap)
No. 6 Ohio State 42, Indiana 27 (recap)
No. 7 Baylor 49, Oklahoma State 28 (recap)
Arkansas 30, No. 8 Ole Miss 0 (recap)
No. 9 UCLA 38, No. 19 USC 20 (recap)
No. 10 Georgia 55, Charleston Southern 9 (recap)
No. 11 Michigan State 45, Rutgers 3 (recap)
No. 13 Arizona State 52, Washington State 31 (recap)
No. 14 Auburn 31, Samford 7 (recap)
No. 15 Arizona 42, No. 17 Utah 10 (recap)
No. 16 Wisconsin 26, Iowa 24 (recap)
No. 20 Missouri 29, Tennessee 21 (recap)
No. 21 Oklahoma 44, Kansas 7 (recap)
No. 22 Clemson 28, Georgia State 0 (recap)
No. 24 Louisville 31, Notre Dame 28 (recap)
No. 25 Minnesota 28, No. 23 Nebraska 24 (recap)
Appalachian State 35, Louisiana-Lafayette 16 (recap)
Army 42, Fordham 31 (recap)
Ball State 45, Eastern Michigan 30 (recap)
Boise State 63, Wyoming 14 (recap)
BYU 64, Savannah State 0 (recap)
Colorado State 58, New Mexico 20
East Carolina 34, Tulane 6
Florida 52, Eastern Kentucky 3 (recap)
Fresno State 40, Nevada 20 (recap)
Hawaii 37, UNLV 35
Houston 38, Tulsa 28 (recap)
Illinois 16, Penn State 14 (recap)
Louisiana-Monroe 30, New Mexico State 17 (recap)
Marshall 23, UAB 18 (recap)
Maryland 23, Michigan 16 (recap)
Memphis 31, South Florida 20 (recap)
Middle Tennessee 35, Florida Atlantic 34 (recap)
North Texas 17, Florida International 14
Northwestern 38, Purdue 14 (recap)
Old Dominion 30, Louisiana Tech 27 (OT) (recap)
Pittsburgh 30, Syracuse 7 (recap)
South Carolina 37, South Alabama 12 (recap)
Stanford 38, California 17 (recap)
Texas Tech 34, Iowa State 31 (recap)
UCF 53, SMU 7 (recap)
Wake Forest 6, Virginia Tech 3 (2OT)
Washington 37, Oregon State 13 (recap)
Western Kentucky 45, UTSA 7 (recap)
Western Michigan 32, Central Michigan 20 (recap)
Weeknight games
No. 12 Kansas State 26, West Virginia 20 (recap)
Akron 30, Massachusetts 6
North Carolina 45, Duke 20 (recap)
Northern Illinois 21, Ohio 14 (recap)
Rice 31, UTEP 13 (recap)
San Diego State 30, Air Force 14 (recap)
Texas State 45, Arkansas State 27 (recap)
Toledo 27, Bowling Green 20 (recap)
Utah State 41, San José State 7 (recap)
