College football rankings: AP Poll Top 25 prediction after Week 13
By Andrew Olson
Published:
So long, consensus. Welcome back, debate.
Since Alabama defeated LSU in Week 11, the consensus has been that Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame and Michigan were the top four teams in order. Ohio State had something to say about that on Rivalry Week Saturday.
The No. 10 Buckeyes helped blow up the rankings by blowing out the No. 4 Wolverines 62-39 Saturday. If Michigan was No. 4, it’s hard to argue OSU doesn’t deserve to take that spot. But, it seems unlikely that the Associated Press Top 25 voters would allow the Buckeyes to jump a Georgia team that entered the day ranked No. 5 and took care of business against Georgia Tech 45-21 to advance to 11-1.
OSU’s thumping of Michigan is probably enough to move past No. 6 Oklahoma. The Sooners beat No. 12 West Virginia 59-56, but that score coming from a four-quarter game will turn off some voters who prefer their college football with at least a hint of defense.
Speaking of high scores, it’s hard to imagine voters dinging No. 8 LSU much for losing a seven-overtime game on the road to a good Texas A&M team. A move down to No. 9 feels about right considering what else happened in the Top 25.
- Alabama (12-0) def. Auburn
- Clemson (12-0) def. South Carolina
- Notre Dame (12-0) def. USC
- Georgia (11-1) def. Georgia Tech
- Ohio State (11-1) def. No. 4 Michigan
- Oklahoma (11-1) def. No. 12 West Virginia
- UCF (11-0) def. USF
- Michigan (10-2) lost to No. 10 Ohio State
- LSU (9-3) lost to Texas A&M
- Washington (9-3) def. No. 7 Washington State
- Florida (9-3) def. Florida State
- Penn State (9-3) def. Maryland
- Texas (9-3) def. Kansas
- Washington State (10-2) lost to No. 16 Washington
- West Virginia (8-3) lost to No. 6 Oklahoma
- Kentucky (9-3) def. Louisville
- Boise State (10-2) def. No. 14 Utah State
- Utah (9-3) def. BYU
- Syracuse (9-3) def. Boston College
- Northwestern (8-4) def. Illinois
- Mississippi State (8-4) def. Ole Miss
- Texas A&M (8-4) def. No. 8 LSU
- Army (9-2) OFF
- Iowa State (7-4) def. Kansas State
- Utah State (10-2) lost to No. 21 Boise State
Projected to fall out AP Top 25: No. 24 Pittsburgh (7-5) lost to Miami
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
