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The College Football Selection Committee released its third top-25 rankings of the season.
College Football Poll – New No. 1
The Georgia Bulldogs have claimed the No. 1 spot this week. The previous owners of the No. 1 spot, Ohio State, move down to No. 2.
THERE'S A NEW NO. 1 IN THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF RANKINGS❗️@GeorgiaFootball pic.twitter.com/88R62qYDxj
— SEC Network (@SECNetwork) November 15, 2023
Ohio State didn’t lose this past week. In fact, they had a dominant performance against Michigan State, winning 38-3. But the Bulldogs had a more impressive win, beating Ole Miss 52-17. The Bulldogs have continued to be dominant all season and that win against a top-15 team showed that they deserve the No. 1 spot.
Michigan beat Penn State without head coach Jim Harbaugh on the sideline. Amid the team’s controversy this season, they still came out with a win against a good Penn State team. The impending matchup of Ohio State and Michigan will again be a big factor in the College Football Playoffs this year. This rivalry is one of the biggest in sports, and the past few years has held greater significance as both teams have been National Championship contenders.
Florida State remains at the No. 4 spot this week. The Seminoles were on upset watch against Miami this week, barely squeaking out a win, 27-20 against the Hurricanes. They have a quality win against LSU, 45-24, in the first week of college football, but have lacked a statement win since. The Seminoles will take on North Alabama this weekend, which will not be much of a test for them. They will then close out the regular season at The Swamp for rivalry week. If they win both of their remaining games, it will be interesting to see if the Seminoles have enough quality wins to justify them a spot in the CFP.
On the Edge
The Washington Huskies remain outside the top 4 at No. 5, even though they are an undefeated 10-0 this season. The Huskies have had wins against quality teams this season, including Arizona, Oregon, and Utah. The Huskies will play No. 11 Oregon State this weekend, followed by Washington State to close out their regular season. If the Huskies beat their remaining two opponents, they have good odds to sneak into the top 4 for the college football playoffs.
Oregon sits at No. 6. The Ducks are 9-1 this season, with their only loss to Washington. They will close out their season at Arizona State and Oregon State. The Ducks are unlikely to make the CFB with Washington sitting ahead of them, but if there comes a major shakeup in the top 4, they could somehow find a way in.
The Texas Longhorns are ranked at No. 7. The 9-1 Longhorns loss was a close game against Oklahoma. Quinn Ewers returned from an injury this week that he suffered against Houston on October 21. The Longhorns close out their season against Iowa State and finally Texas Tech. Texas will most likely end up out of the final 4 to end the season. Quinn Ewers is still uncertain about declaring for the NFL draft this season, so the next 2 weeks will say a lot about the Longhorn’s future.
Rest of the Field
Here’s a look at how the rest of the field breaks down.
There’s a new No. 1 in the Week 12 #CFBPlayoff rankings 👀 pic.twitter.com/1TmPA0eHg2
— ESPN (@espn) November 15, 2023
The biggest movement and perhaps the surprise of the season have been the Missouri Tigers. The Tigers had a dominant win, 36-7, against Tennessee this past weekend. That performance earned them a spot in the top 10 this week, sitting at No. 9. Although they have losses to LSU and Georgia, they have proven that they are capable of hanging with those teams and pose as a real threat. They will close out their season with games against Florida this weekend, following with Arkansas.
The rest of the field doesn’t come at much of a surprise, as there is little movement within the top 25.
With only 2 weeks of the college football season left, teams will battle to earn their spot in the college football playoffs at their chance for a National Championship.
