The Top 25 for Tomorrow Today: Ohio State doesn’t drop too far in the college football rankings, but Michigan rises to No. 2.
Projecting the updated AP Week 13 of the 2023 college football season saw the top 25 rankings.
In terms of thrills and excitement, college football’s Rivalry Week definitely lived up to fans’ expectations for the last week of the regular season. As Week 13’s results showed more close calls than outright upsets, and as November came to an end, many of the favorites held their ground, there aren’t as many changes in the upcoming college football rankings as you might think.
Following Michigan’s 30–24 victory over Ohio State, there will undoubtedly be a change in the top five as the Wolverines will contend with Georgia for the top spot and the Buckeyes must now determine their standing among the top 10 one-loss teams. Other changes we can expect to see include Louisville dropping out of the top 10 as Jeff Brohm gets his team ready for the ACC Championship Game following an unexpected home loss to rival Kentucky.
In other news, we’ll see how Jeff Brohm, Georgia, and Washington handled fierce challenges from in-state rivals to keep their perfect records, and how Alabama’s incredible touchdown pass to Isaiah Bond on a fourth-and-goal from 31 yards out late in the fourth quarter kept them in the running for the College Football Playoffs. Some teams considered their victory over rivalry weekend to be a success, while others, like Oregon and Texas, were more confident going into conference championship week.
After the results of Week 13, this is how we believe the new AP Top 25 will appear:
1. Georgia (last week—1): After pulling away in a victory over Georgia Tech, the Bulldogs are not anticipated to give up their top ranking, even though some first-place votes may be transferred elsewhere.
2. Michigan (3): Michigan’s defense earned J.J. McCarthy’s praise for their efforts in the Wolverines’ 30-24 victory over Ohio State, as they twice intercepted Kyle McCord to win the game for the third time in a row.
3. Washington (4): After a fierce display from Apple Cup rival Washington State, things appeared very doubtful for the Huskies. However, a game-winning field goal helped them to complete a 12-0 regular season victory, 24-21.
4. Florida State (5): After a 24–15 victory at home against Florida, Mike Norvell guided the Seminoles to their fourth 12-0 start in program history. Despite not overwhelming their opponents, the Seminoles’ undefeated record is enough to keep them in the playoff hunt.
5. Ohio State (2): Following their loss at Michigan, it is anticipated that Ohio State will rank as the nation’s best one-loss team. After losing to the Wolverines for the third time in a row, the Buckeyes are understandably frustrated in the big picture, but since it’s only the first loss of the season, there won’t be much of a dip in the new college football rankings.
6. Oregon (6): Following a 31-7 victory over Oregon State on Friday, the Ducks won’t be seeing any significant changes. Oregon’s only remaining hope of making the playoffs is to play Washington again in the Pac-12 Championship Game, which is set up by avenging last year’s rivalry loss.
7. Texas (7): The Longhorns’ 57-7 victory over Texas Tech on Black Friday solidified the idea that they are a team deserving of a title shot, regardless of whether Steve Sarkisian factored style points into his game plan. Following two near misses earlier in the month, Texas enters December with some momentum as they aim to win the program’s first Big 12 championship since 2009.
8. Alabama (8): Nick Saban hasn’t had many memorable Iron Bowl moments in Jordan-Hare Stadium, but the game’s thrilling conclusion on Saturday offered the perfect narrative turn. There won’t be many changes in the rankings for an 11-1 team that was predicted to win by a greater margin, despite the thrilling finish and intense drama.
Missouri (10): The Tigers’ 48-14 victory over Arkansas on Friday gave them a 10-2 regular season record and paved the way for a New Year’s Six bowl bid. Following consecutive six-win seasons, Eli Drinkwitz has had a noticeable improvement in performance. This is the program’s first 10-win season since 2014.
10. Penn State (11): James Franklin has led the team to two consecutive 10-2 regular seasons after defeating Michigan State 42-0 in Detroit to end the season. Franklin has now recorded double-digit winning seasons in five of the previous eight years, but depending on the Nittany Lions’ bowl opponent, he may have difficulty finishing much higher than this in the final rankings.
11. Ole Miss (12): With a 17-7 victory on Thursday night, Lane Kiffin improved to 3-1 in the Egg Bowl as Ole Miss’ head coach. The Rebels now have a chance to match or surpass their 2021 top-11 poll finish.
12. Oklahoma (13): The Sooners’ victory over TCU on Friday night kept them in contention for the Big 12 championship game, but Oklahoma State’s victory over BYU causes them to lose in the end. The Sooners, who are now 10-2, have significantly improved from their six-win regular season of the previous year. However, when Oklahoma fans reflect on their final season in the conference, they will be disappointed that they defeated Texas and did not make it to the Big 12 title game.
13. Louisville (9): The team’s home loss to Kentucky in the regular-season finale marked the beginning of an extremely personal and bitter chapter in Jeff Brohm’s dream debut season. A victory over Florida State in the ACC Championship Game next week could quickly turn things around, but for now, there is more anger over the 38-31 loss than excitement about the chance to win the program’s first-ever ACC championship.
14. LSU (14): Jayden Daniels’ four touchdowns helped the Tigers avoid a disappointing home loss to Texas A&M, and he is still a strong candidate for the stiff-arm trophy. The Tigers needed Daniels’ second-half surge to prevent the loss.
15. Arizona (16): In a 59-23 victory over Arizona State, Noah Fifita had an incredible performance, throwing for 527 yards and five touchdowns. It makes sense that Fifita was the star of Arizona’s final regular-season game because the Wildcats’ recent six-game winning streak has helped them climb up the rankings.
16. Tulane (18): After defeating UTSA 29-16 on Friday to end the regular season with an 11-1 record, we’re projecting Tulane to make a slight jump. Since a setback to Ole Miss at the beginning of September, the Green Wave have won ten straight games, and UTSA is probably among their toughest opponents during that run.
17. Notre Dame (17): The Irish finished the season with a 9-3 record thanks to a strong finish that included a big day for Audric Estime. In the 56-23 victory over rival Stanford, Estime ran for 238 yards and four touchdowns, which helped the team overcome a sloppy first half.
18. Oklahoma State (21): After falling behind 24-6 early in the game, the Cowboys rallied to defeat BYU 9-3 in double overtime and secure a trip to the Big 12 Championship Game.
19. Iowa (20): With a 10-2 record this season, Iowa has demonstrated almost every method there is to win a football game. The Hawkeyes’ 13-10 victory over Nebraska on Friday appeared to have a little bit of everything, but despite the high level of entertainment, the rankings value probably won’t move the team from its position in the bottom half of the top 25.
20. Oregon State (15): An 8-4 record and a head-to-head loss to Arizona are the two factors working against the Beavers, but this may be too aggressive given the hit Oregon State will take in the rankings after Friday’s loss at Oregon.
21. Liberty (22): Following a 42-28 victory over UTEP, Liberty completed a 12-0 regular season. Jamey Chadwell honored the Flames’ achievement in the El Paso community by having a Mariachi band perform in the locker room.
22. Toledo (23): After falling to Illinois by two points in the season opener, the Rockets have won 11 of their last 12 games. After that, Toledo will play Miami (Ohio) in the MAC Championship Game in an attempt to win 12 games for the first time under head coach Jason Candle.
23. James Madison (24): The Dukes defeated conference rival Coastal Carolina 56-14 in Conway, showing that they wanted to finish first in the standings even though they aren’t qualified for the Sun Belt Championship Game.
24. NC State (NR): After being selected as one of the top 25 teams by the College Football Playoff Selection Committee last week, the Wolfpack lived up to their reputation by defeating North Carolina 39-20 in their rivalry game to end the season with a 9-3 record.
25. Tennessee (25): Following a 48-24 victory over Vanderbilt, the Volunteers finish the regular season with an 8-4 record.
