RADIO
25: LSU (9-4) (NR)
Last game: W 44-31 vs. Baylor
This could have been any number of teams. Before deciding on LSU, I considered Memphis, Kansas State, and even Army for this slot. Why? Baylor was one of the hottest Big 12 (16) teams down the stretch and LSU still beat them.
24: Colorado (9-3) ⇓5
Last game: L 14-36 vs. (14) BYU
Colorado had most of its starters — including the two Heisman contenders playing in this game — and still got blown off the field. Ouch.
23: Navy (10-3) (NR)
Last game: W 21-20 vs. Oklahoma
It’s a win over a brand name that shouldn’t be discounted. Michael Hawkins Jr. started for a month this year and we haven’t had a healthy WR room since August. This is close to the same Oklahoma team that knocked Alabama silly. Navy deserves credit for this win and for demolishing Army.
22: UNLV (11-3) ⇓1
Last game: W 24-13 vs. California
I know it was a win, but the Rebels barely beat a Cal team without a QB and the top two receivers. It wasn’t that impressive.
21: Syracuse (9-3) ⇑4
Last game: W 52-35 vs. Washington State
Kyle McCord went out in style with another monster performance. Can you imagine if he had stayed with the Orange for one more year? I’ll call it now: Quinn Ewers to Syracuse.
20: Missouri (10-3) ⇔
Last game: W 27-24 vs. Iowa
Sorry, Mizzou. Illinois beating South Carolina was enough to move them in front of you. It’s not you, it’s them.
19: Alabama (9-4) ⇓7
Last game: L 13-19 vs. Michigan
The Tide lost to an average Michigan team that wasn’t even at full strength. They’re lucky I’m still ranking them at all…
18: SMU (11-2) ⇓3
Last game: L 10-38 vs. (5) Penn State
There’s little doubt who the worst playoff team was this year, but the committee painted itself into this corner back in October. SMU and Indiana were both rewarded for win numbers but not win quality from the very beginning.
17: South Carolina (9-4) ⇓8
Last game: L 17-21 vs. Illinois
Don’t hang your heads, South Carolina fans. It was still a great season even though this loss stung quite a bit.
16: Illinois (10-3) ⇑6
Last game: W 21-17 vs. (9) South Carolina
The Gamecocks were the one team that I thought had a legitimate gripe about being left out and Illinois still beat them. The Illini got my respect with that win. It may have been the best game that they played all season, but they played it at the right time.
15: Miami (FL) (10-3) ⇑2
Last game: L 41-42 vs. (18) Iowa State
The Pop-Tarts Bowl has one of the dumbest names but may have had the best game. And yes, Miami moving to Emory Williams at quarterback cost them the game. That’s why I moved them up in the rankings despite the loss.
14: Iowa State (11-3) ⇑4
Last game: W 42-41 vs. (17) Miami (FL)
We’re getting into the best of the rest. Teams that weren’t elite, but still finished strong. I don’t feel the need to put “playoff” teams in my top 12. I’ve gone against the grain for much of the season. Why stop now? I’ll give teams credit for showing up in bowl games. They deserve praise for caring enough to put on that uniform one more time.
13: Clemson (9-4) ⇓3
Last game: L 24-38 vs. (3) Texas
Did Clemson belong on that field with Texas? Probably not. Who would have been better though? Mississippi is the only team that may have come close. To be fair, no ACC team played like they deserved to be in any bowl game.
12: Boise State (12-2) ⇑4
Last game: L 14-31 vs. (5) Penn State
I wasn’t going to move Boise up, but they do deserve some credit for hanging around with Penn State for 40 minutes. They were never a threat to win the game though. Penn State did a great job on Ashton Jeanty and the passing game wasn’t good enough to make them pay.
11: BYU (11-2) ⇑3
Last game: W 36-14 vs. (19) Colorado
BYU wasn’t as vocal about the playoff snub, but they went out there and took it to a hot Colorado team in San Antonio.
10: Mississippi (10-3) ⇑3
Last game: W 52-20 vs. Duke
I know that Mississippi didn’t make the playoff, nor do I think they should have. However, Lane Kiffin thought they should have and spent all of the first round telling anyone who would listen. He’s not the only coach that did this, but he was the most vocal.
You know what? His team went out there and took care of business. Miami, South Carolina, and Alabama did not. Ole Miss left no doubt who the best team on the field was and left everyone wondering how far the Rebels could have gone in the playoffs.
9: Tennessee (10-3) ⇓3
Last game: L 17-42 vs. (4) Ohio State
I will say that a healthy Dylan Sampson for the whole game would have made a difference, but there may not have been a team that could have beaten Ohio State in this game. Tennessee fans showed up en masse. Ohio State sent them back down I-75 in dumbfounded disbelief.
That said, Tennessee’s trolling on X before the game was legendary and mostly good-natured. They did the same when they came to Norman this year and I took it for what it was: fun. More fanbases need to troll like the Vols because 99% of them didn’t cross the line.
8: Indiana (11-2) ⇔
Last game: L 17-27 vs. (7) Notre Dame
Indiana’s two losses were to teams that played for the National Championship. If they had just one good win, I would have the Hoosiers in the top five. Indiana wasn’t “outclassed” because they allowed a 98-yard touchdown run on the first play.
The game wasn’t a blowout. The Hoosiers showed heart and kept it close. 10 points isn’t an embarrassing loss by any measure. No one is piling it on Tennessee for getting dominated by Ohio State. Why the hate for Indiana, the best story in college football this year? Because the elites don’t like the rabble eating from their buffet.
7: Georgia (11-3) ⇓5
Last game: L 10-23 vs. (7) Notre Dame
The only question I have is whether Georgia will go into the portal and make it rain to upgrade the quarterback position. Gunner Stockton wasn’t bad, but he wasn’t that good either.
All things considered, this was not a bad game for his first career start. Georgia’s inability to run the ball was a huge problem in this game. Notre Dame dominated the “middle eight” which ultimately doomed the Bulldogs.
6: Arizona State (11-3) ⇑5
Last game: L 31-39 (2 OT) vs. (3) Texas
The Sun Devils pushed Texas to the brink before losing, and honestly, probably should have won this game. What say you? To me, this looks a lot like targeting. That would have kept the drive going for Arizona State inside of two minutes and very likely affected the outcome of the game. Stop me if you’ve heard that before.
Do you know what really seals it for me? ES(EC)PN admitted on SportsCenter that it was targeting. This is the network that lights the SEC torch saying that the refs blew the call against an SEC team. I feel really bad for Arizona State. This isn’t as egregious as the Nebraska-USC game, but the game was FAR more important. The officials altered the course of history in the first 12-team playoff. Would Arizona State have beaten Ohio State? I doubt it, but we’ll never know.
5: Oregon (13-1) ⇓4
Last game: L 21-41 vs. (4) Ohio State
Somewhere, regular season success still matters. It didn’t in this game. Oregon struggled to solve the Ohio State defense and was powerless to stop their offense. The extra week off probably didn’t do the Ducks any favors, but that’s not the only reason they lost this game. Oregon was outplayed at every position.
4: Penn State (13-3) ⇑1
Playoffs: W 38-10 vs. (15) SMU, W 31-14 vs. (16) Boise State, L 24-27 vs. (7) Notre Dame
Is getting to the playoff enough for Penn State? Considering where they were before James Franklin got there, it should be. Overall, it was not a bad finish for Penn State in the Final Four, but they had an easy road to get there.
3: Texas (13-3) ⇔
Playoffs: W 38-24 vs. (10) Clemson, W 39-31 (2 OT) vs. (11) Arizona State, L 14-28 vs. (4) Ohio State
People are dogging Notre Dame’s run through the playoffs, but what about Texas? I’m not going to argue that Arizona State didn’t belong — they did — but the auto-bid for Clemson was a nice warm-up for Texas.
Texas was one of the teams who would have been in the four-team playoff and they played like it. That’s a successful season, right? And we get Arch Manning next year. I’m an Oklahoma fan and I want to see that!
2: Notre Dame (14-2) ⇑5
Playoffs: W 27-17 vs. (8) Indiana, W 23-10 vs. (2) Georgia, W 27-24 vs. (5) Penn State, L 23-34 vs. (4) Ohio State
I knew when the Irish hired Marcus Freeman that they made the right hire. I openly criticized the hiring of Brian Kelly, Charlie Weis, and Tyrone Willingham. Don’t even get me started on George O’Leary. I didn’t criticize Freeman. The Irish caught the break of all breaks when Kelly left for LSU. The Irish still had their share of shortcomings this year, but to be fair, every team did. That’s how we wound up with a two-loss champion. Coaching was not one of the shortcomings. For those of you who don’t like Notre Dame, it could be a long two decades or so before Freeman steps down.
Notre Dame’s run to the title game was “easy,” but all of the teams that they beat were in my top 10 as well as any sane poll. We all know that the seeding was bogus.We can argue about the merits of Texas in this spot, but they lost to Georgia twice. Notre Dame beat Georgia, even though it was without Carson Beck. It is worth noting that Texas was ahead of Georgia when Beck got hurt. Therefore, the Irish keep the spot.
1: Ohio State (14-2) ⇑3
Playoffs: W 42-17 vs. (6) Tennessee, W 41-21 vs. (1) Oregon, W 28-14 vs. (3) Texas, W 34-23 vs. (7) Notre Dame
This is the first two-loss champion, and unfortunately, it won’t be the last. What have you savages done to the sport I love? You can’t take anything away from Ohio State’s run. They beat four strong teams to claim the championship.
