Josh’s College Football Rankings 2023–Week 13

   November 26, 2023  Posted in Football

This ended up being a great week for college football. We may not have had the huge upsets, but we had some crazy games regardless. Alabama with a 31-yard 4th & goal touchdown pass to take the lead. Washington with some gutsy play calling to win the game. The interception to end Ohio State’s comeback chances. Also, some huge blowouts against rivals led to some funny moments–Virginia turning on the sprinklers while Virginia Tech tried to take a team photo was an amazing display of rivalry pettiness. I loved it.

  1. Georgia (12-0)–#1–W 31-23 Georgia Tech. 29 consecutive wins. Three straight 12-0 regular seasons. Wins over four ranked teams, two of which have been in the top ten at some point.
  2. Michigan (12-0)–#3–W 30-24 #2 Ohio State. The Wolverines finished with their second straight undefeated regular season. Two wins against top ten teams. Dominant wins against almost everyone else.
  3. Washington (12-0)–#4–W 24-21 Washington State. The Huskies won the Apple Cup. I will not hold it against them since it was close. Rivalry games are always tough. Four ranked wins, one against a top ten team. Also, a win over Arizona, who is now ranked. Solid non-conference schedule (Boise State and Michigan State–not Washington’s fault neither team was great this year).
  4. Florida State (12-0)–#5–W 24-15 Florida. I know, they are not the same team without Jordan Travis, but I respect an undefeated season. They have two ranked wins, one of which was against a top five team, and they also defeated Clemson who has dipped in and out of rankings all year. Give them points for beating two SEC teams.
  5. Ohio State (11-1)–#2–L 30-24 #3 Michigan. Ryan Day is 1-6 against top five teams, I guess he cannot win the big games, maybe they should look at another coach. Two ranked wins, both teams were in the top ten. Close loss to a top five team.
  6. Oregon (11-1)–#6–W 31-7 #15 Washington State. Three wins against ranked teams, one close loss against a top ten team (who is now in the top four). They also crushed USC, who was no longer ranked, but was ranked at one point. Playing some of the best football at the moment.
  7. Texas (11-1)–#7–W 57-7 Texas Tech. Three ranked wins for the Longhorns, one against a top five team. Only loss to a ranked team.
  8. Alabama (11-1)–#8–W 27-24 Auburn. The Iron Bowl came down a crazy ending, would we expect anything less? The Crimson Tide have three ranked wins, and their only loss comes to Texas. Playing much better than they did early in the year.
  9. Missouri (10-2)–#10–W 48-14 Arkansas. Three ranked wins for the Tigers, both losses against ranked teams (LSU & Georgia).
  10. Penn State (10-2)–#11–W 42-0 Michigan State. Third shutout of the season, second against a Big Ten opponent. One ranked win, two losses against top five teams. Both games close.
  11. Ole Miss (10-2)–#12–W 17-7 Mississippi State. Two ranked wins, two ranked losses.
  12. Oklahoma (10-2)–#13–W 69-45 TCU. One win against a ranked team, top five Texas. Lost to Kansas and Oklahoma State.
  13. Tulane (11-1)–#14–W 29-16 UTSA. The rankings are not giving Tulane any respect this year. The Green Wave’s only loss was to Ole Miss. It was a close game until the end, but the impressive thing is that Tulane was without their starting QB.
  14. LSU (9-3)–#16–W 42-30 Texas A&M. One ranked win, all three losses against ranked teams. Gave up 142 points in those three losses.
  15. Arizona (9-3)–#17–W 59-23 Arizona State. Probably the hottest team with three losses. They have won six in a row. They have beat four ranked teams, and lost to two top ten teams. Losing to Mississippi State in OT early in the year is meh.
  16. Louisville (10-2)–#9–L 38-31 Kentucky. Two ranked wins, one against top ten Notre Dame, one against Duke. Also defeated NC State, who ended the year ranked. However, bad loss to Pitt, and to Kentucky (yeah, it was a rivalry game, but they had too much on the line to lose).
  17. Notre Dame (9-3)–#18–W 56-23 Stanford. Two ranked wins for the Irish. Three losses–one to Ohio State, a top five team, but also losses to Clemson & Louisville. Absolutely destroyed Pitt. Extremely up and down team.
  18. Oregon State (8-4)–#15–L 31-7 #6 Oregon. Two ranked wins, four losses to ranked teams (Arizona ended ranked–I think that was the beginning of the Wildcats run). Put the Beavers in the ACC and they probably compete for the title.
  19. Iowa (10-2)–#20–W 13-10 Nebraska. Offense is awful. Defense is good, but honestly, their division is terrible. They played one ranked team and were shutout by them. The Big Ten Championship game will be ugly.
  20. NC State (9-3)–#23–W 39-20 UNC. The Wolfpack are probably the sneakiest 3-loss team out there. No wins over ranked teams, but they did beat Clemson and UNC, who were both ranked at different points. Losses to ranked teams Notre Dame, Duke, and Louisville (not ranked at the time).
  21. Toledo (11-1)–#21–W 32-17 Central Michigan. The CFP gives zero respect to this team. 11 straight wins. Only loss was the opening game at Illinois on a last second field goal.
  22. Liberty (12-0)–#22–W 42-28 UTEP. No ranked wins. Incredibly weak schedule. I feel like they scheduled it this way to go undefeated. I respect Toledo for at least playing a Big Ten team. Sorry Flames, no love from me.
  23. Oklahoma State (9-3)–#24–W 40-34 2OT BYU. Lost to South Alabama, Iowa State, and UCF (45-3!!!!). Two ranked wins, one against a top ten team.
  24. JMU (11-1)–#25–W 56-14 Coastal Carolina. The Dukes cannot play for the Sun Belt Championship, but since there are not enough bowl eligible teams, they will be allowed to play in a bowl game. Great season James Madison!
  25. Clemson (8-4)–HM–W 16-7 South Carolina. Playing well at the end of the year. They have two ranked wins, and their losses ended up being to teams who were ranked (or are ranked now).

Honorable Mention
Kansas State (8-4)–#19–L 42-35 Iowa State. One win over a ranked team. Another inconsistent season for the Wildcats.
Troy (10-2)–HM–W 35-17 Southern Miss. Won nine in a row. Only losses to Kansas State and a close one to JMU. 
SMU (10-2)–HM–W 59-14 Navy. Undefeated in the AAC. Losses came to Oklahoma and TCU. 
Tennessee (8-4)–HM–W 48-24 Vanderbilt. No ranked wins (they did beat Kentucky, who bounced in and out of rankings all year). Lost to Florida. 
Utah (8-4)–HM–W 23-17 Colorado. Two ranked wins, but losses to Oregon, Washington, Oregon State, and Arizona. Did it with a backup QB, hence why they still get an honorable mention.

Watch List
New Mexico State (10-3)–WL–W 23-20 Jacksonville State. Points for playing 13 games. Dumb losses to UMass and Hawaii. Also lost to Liberty, but they get to play them in the championship game. Beat Auburn. 
Kansas (8-4)–NR–W 49-16 Cincinnati. The Jayhawks beat Oklahoma, but lost Texas Tech, Kansas State, Texas, and Oklahoma State. Love to see the turnaround in Lawrence. 
West Virginia (8-4)–NR–W 34-31 Baylor. I had the Mountaineers going 2-10. They proved me wrong. I became a believer after the Penn State game, even though it was not close, WVU played well, and I believe I said they would win a decent amount of games if they played that way. Losses to three ranked teams, other loss was to Houston. 
Northwestern (7-5)–WL–W 45-43 Illinois. Cannot say enough good things about this team. They fought through adversity, and ended the year with a winning record. Much better than the 3-9 record I predicted.
California (6-6)–NR–W 33-7 UCLA. This team hit bowl eligibility. They have some exciting young players including Fernando Mendoza (QB), Jaydn Ott (RB), Jeremiah Hunter (WR), and Cade Uluave (LB). Hopefully they all stay at Cal. Transfer portal makes me nervous for teams that are on the rise.

Conference championship games this week!

Conference USA: New Mexico State at #22 Liberty–12/1 7:00 p.m.
Pac-12: #6 Oregon vs. #3 Washington–Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas)–12/1 8:00 p.m.
Big 12: #23 Oklahoma State vs. #7 Texas–AT&T Stadium (Arlington)–12/2 12:00 p.m.
MAC: Miami OH vs. #21 Toledo–Ford Field (Detroit)–12/2 12:00 p.m.
MWC: Boise State vs. UNLV–Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas)–12/2 3:00 p.m.
AAC: SMU at #13 Tulane–12/2 4:00 p.m.
SEC: #8 Alabama vs. #1 Georgia–Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta)–12/2 4:00 p.m.
Sun Belt: Appalachian State at Troy–12/2 4:00 p.m.
ACC: #16 Louisville vs. #4 Florida State–Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte)–12/2 8:00 p.m.
Big Ten: #19 Iowa vs. #2 Michigan–Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis)–12/2 8:00 p.m.

Author: Ngewo