Predicting the College Football Playoff Rankings for Week 13: Minnesota, Baylor Suffer Losses

Six teams ranked in the College Football Playoff rankings lost in Week 12, including previously undefeated Minnesota and Baylor, which should cause some shakeups in and around the top 10.

Here are our predictions for what the College Football Playoff rankings will look like in Week 13.

Dropped out of rankings: No. 19 Texas, No. 23 Navy, No. 24 Kansas State

 

25. Iowa State (6-4)

The Cyclones beat Texas, which was ranked No. 19 last week, and all four of Iowa State’s losses have come against top-25 teams by a combined 11 points.

 

24. Appalachian State (9-1)

The Mountaineers rolled Georgia State on the road, 56-27, behind quarterback Zac Thomas’ five total touchdowns.

 

23. Texas A&M (7-3)

Texas A&M beat South Carolina 30-6 in Week 12. Now the Aggies will have the opportunity to play spoiler in Weeks 13 and 14 with road games against playoff hopefuls Georgia and LSU.

 

22. SMU (9-1)

The Mustangs were off in Week 12, one week after holding off East Carolina 59-51 in a shootout. They go to Navy in Week 13.

 

21. Oklahoma State (7-3)

The Cowboys beat Kansas 31-13 after taking a 31-point lead through three quarters. Chuba Hubbard and Dillon Stoner both scored two touchdowns in the win.

 

20. Boise State (9-1)

The Broncos rolled New Mexico, 42-9, one game after a 20-17 scare against Wyoming. Boise State will finish the regular season with road games against Utah State and Colorado State.

 

19. Memphis (9-1)

After falling behind 17-7 against Houston, Memphis scored 21 points in the second quarter and 14 more in the third quarter to win 45-27. Memphis quarterback Brady White threw five touchdown passes.

 

18. Cincinnati (9-1)

The Bearcats will likely still be in pole position for the Group of Five’s New Year’s Six bowl bid but they nearly tripped up in a 20-17 road win at South Florida. Cincinnati will host a quality Temple team in Week 13 before going on the road to face Memphis in a huge AAC clash.

 

17. Iowa (7-3)

The Hawkeyes earned their biggest win of the season, 23-19 over Minnesota, as they potentially set up the Gophers to miss the Big Ten Championship. All three of Iowa’s losses were to ranked opponents, two came on the road and they were by a combined 14 points.

 

16. Auburn (7-3)

You can probably make a compelling case that Auburn is better than its Week 13 ranking. The Tigers have three losses, sure, but wouldn’t most teams in the country if they had to play Florida and LSU on the road, then host Georgia? They lost those games by a combined 21 points so Auburn proved it’s really good, just not playoff good.

 

15. Notre Dame (8-2)

The Fighting Irish destroyed a top-25 Navy team 52-20, giving Notre Dame a quality win in the selection committee’s eyes. It will finish the season against Boston College and at Stanford.

 

14. Michigan (8-2)

The Wolverines throttled rival Michigan State 44-10 in Week 12, giving Michigan its third-straight win by 31 points or more. Next up is a potential trap game against Indiana before the Wolverines host Ohio State.

 

13. Wisconsin (8-2)

Thanks to Iowa’s win over Minnesota, Wisconsin is back in the Big Ten Championship hunt but the Badgers will need to beat Purdue before they go to the Twin Cities to face Minnesota in a Big Ten West, winner-take-all showdown.

 

12. Baylor (9-1)

Baylor finally suffered a loss after it blew a 28-3 lead against Oklahoma. The Bears are tied for first in the Big 12 with the Sooners and if Baylor can beat Texas and Kansas, it’ll likely get another shot at Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship.

 

11. Florida (9-2)

The Gators won 23-6 at Missouri, setting up Florida to finish the regular season with a 10-2 record if it can beat rival Florida State in Week 14.

 

10. Penn State (9-1)

Could you argue that Penn State, which has wins over Iowa (on the road, where Minnesota just lost) and Michigan, has a better resume than Minnesota? Probably. But we’re just two weeks removed from Minnesota beating Penn State so the Nittany Lions might be ranked one spot behind the Gophers in Week 13 and Penn State can make a serious climb in the rankings if it beats Ohio State this week.

 

9. Minnesota (9-1)

The Gophers’ undefeated season finally came to an end in Iowa City but that shouldn’t take anything away from the first two and a half months of their season. And guess what, the loss to Iowa doesn’t keep Minnesota from winning the Big Ten West, Big Ten Championship or making the playoff. But the Gophers do need to win out against Northwestern and Wisconsin if they want to chase those goals.

 

8. Oklahoma (9-1)

It took a historic rally but Oklahoma’s playoff hopes are alive after the Sooners left Waco with a 34-31 win after falling behind 28-3. Who ever would’ve thought a football team was capable of winning after trailing 28-3!

 

7. Utah (9-1)

The Utes kept their playoff hopes alive with a 49-3 blowout win against UCLA. Next up is a road trip to Arizona, who fellow playoff contender beat handily in Week 12.

 

6. Oregon (9-1)

The Ducks improved their winning streak to nine games with a 34-6 win at home against Arizona. Next up is a road trip to Arizona State.

 

5. Alabama (9-1)

Don’t expect Alabama to immediately drop in the CFP rankings just because Heisman Trophy contender Tua Tagovailoa suffered a season-ending injury against Mississippi State. Sure, Alabama could eventually fall in the rankings but that would likely happen if the Crimson Tide lost at Auburn in Week 14 or if it’s passed by a conference champion, or multiple, in early December. Backup-turned-starting quarterback Mac Jones will get to face Western Carolina before going under center in the Iron Bowl.

 

4. Georgia (9-1)

With the exception of the potentially playoff-hope-ruining loss to South Carolina, the Bulldogs have been able to thread the needle by winning low-scoring, one-possession games against their top competition. They beat Auburn 21-14 on the road in Week 12 after taking a 21-0 lead through three quarters then surviving an Auburn rally in the fourth quarter.

 

3. Clemson (11-0)

The reigning national champions are just one win away from another undefeated regular season after demolishing Wake Forest 52-3 and there’s a chance the Demon Deacons are the second-best team in the ACC. Clemson closes the regular season with a road game against South Carolina, which beat Georgia and briefly gave Alabama fits.

 

2. Ohio State (10-0)

The Buckeyes didn’t cover the massive spread against Rutgers but they had no trouble on the road against the Scarlet Knights, winning 56-21. The next two weeks give Ohio State the ability to potentially jump LSU for the No. 1 spot in the CFP rankings with games against Penn State and Michigan.

 

1. LSU (10-0)

For as good as LSU’s offense is (No. 2 in ESPN’s SP+ rankings), the Tigers’ defense remains a potential concern (No. 29 SP+) after they allowed Ole Miss to score 37 points in a 58-37 win. The other side of the coin, however, is that LSU led 31-7 at halftime so the winning team is bound to get scored on when second and third-string players rotate in the game.

 

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