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The first College Football Playoff rankings of 2023 are out. Here’s a brief, immediate reaction to the inaugural rankings.
25-10
College Football Playoff Rankings: Teams 25-21 pic.twitter.com/Iw3jsCB9SA
— PFF College (@PFF_College) October 31, 2023
No. 25 Air Force: They don’t pass; they don’t lose.
No. 24 Tulane: Would have loved to see how their initial game against now-No. 10 Ole Miss would have gone with a healthy Michael Pratt.
No. 23 Kansas State: Watch out Big 12; the Wildcats have locked in since losing to a very good Mizzou team.
No. 22 Oklahoma State: Haven’t lost since since September, but losing 33-7 to South Alabama still stings.
No. 21 Kansas: Got a huge, program-defining win against Oklahoma this weekend.
College Football Playoff Rankings: Teams 20-16 pic.twitter.com/EQNSgPNe2U
— PFF College (@PFF_College) October 31, 2023
No. 20 USC: Personally, don’t understand this one due to SC’s awful defense, multiple losses and less-than-convincing wins.
No. 19 UCLA: The sleeper of the PAC-12, has a fairly easy schedule from here on out as far as the PAC-12 goes this year.
No. 18 Utah: Kyle Whittingham has done a brilliant job with this team, but everyone saw the skill gap (especially with a freshman backup QB) between the Utes and Oregon this past weekend.
No. 17 Tennessee: 0-2 in big rivalry games this year, the talented Vols have crumbled under the spotlight.
No. 16 Oregon State: The Beavers have looked pretty good so far, and will have a chance to cause havoc as they play Oregon and Washington the last two weeks of the year.
College Football Playoff Rankings: Teams 15-11 pic.twitter.com/pUY2P322Sm
— PFF College (@PFF_College) October 31, 2023
No. 15 Notre Dame: The highest-ranked two-loss team, and it’s deserved.
No. 14 LSU: NCAA 24 (if it existed) ratings: Offense- 98, Defense- 70
No. 13 Louisville: A very generous ranking given the strength of schedule + a loss to an awful Pitt team.
No. 12 Missouri: Brady Cook + Luther Burden III + Cody Schrader = points.
No. 11 Penn State: Same old Penn State: good team, can’t beat Ohio State.
College Football Playoff Rankings: Teams 10-7 pic.twitter.com/yUUcYBmEQA
— PFF College (@PFF_College) October 31, 2023
The Top 10
No. 10 Ole Miss: Credit where credit’s due, the Rebs have one loss in the SEC West heading into November.
No. 9 Oklahoma: Lost their final ever Big 12 meeting with Kansas in football, who would have thought?
No. 8 Alabama: Beat LSU this weekend and their playoff hopes are very much alive, lose and their SEC West hopes are all but dead.
No. 7 Texas: Texas will have to take on surging K-State this weekend with a backup QB.
https://twitter.com/PFF_College/status/1719493814308487503
No. 6 Oregon: A fair ranking considering how great Oregon has looked; the committee clearly sees the PAC-12 as a real power this year.
No. 5 Washington: The best team in the best conference, but they’ve looked asleep at the wheel since beating Oregon.
No. 4 Florida State: The ‘Noles are in the best position of any team in the Top 10, as they just have to win a weak ACC.
No. 3 Michigan: Should focus on winning their upcoming court case.
No. 2 Georgia: Pleasantly surprised with the committee for this ranking; the Dawgs have looked great but just don’t have the quality wins that Ohio State does.
No. 1 Ohio State: A perfect record including huge wins against Notre Dame and Penn State land the Buckeyes at the top of the initial rankings.
