NCAA College Football Top 25 Power Rankings - End Of Regular Season 2023

It's all over now but the bowl games, but what a glorious load of bowl games we have! James Madison and Jacksonville State both made it in. Liberty is in a New Year's Six bowl because Tulane couldn't handle SMU with a backup quarterback. The CFP proved SEC bias. Are my allegiances the same? You should know by now that they aren't.

My rankings are a little different. I only go by results on the field. I tune out all of the external noise and just focus on what these teams have shown on the field. I have watched at least 10 games of all of these teams by this point of the season. I have a good grasp of what they are.

This is also going to be far different than traditional polls because I will only look at what has been done on the field so far, not what is expected of a specific team. And yes, I still value an undefeated season, especially in a Power-Five conference.

(25) Utah (8-4) (NR)

Last week: Bye

Unlike Tennessee, they have a couple of good wins. Unlike North Carolina, they don't have a bad loss.

(24) Kansas State (8-4) ⇑1

Last week: Bye

Losing Farmageddon is a bad look on paper, but I still don't view it as a bad loss. Iowa State is another one of those bowl teams that no one is lining up to face.

(23) Oklahoma State (9-4) ⇓2

Last week: L 21-49 vs. (7) Texas

To the surprise of absolutely no one, the Cowboys got throttled by Texas.

(22) SMU (11-2)(NR)

Last week: W 26-14 at (19) Tulane

The Mustangs won a conference title on the road with a backup quarterback who threw two interceptions. Their two losses are to Oklahoma and TCU in a rivalry game. Tanner who?

(21) Clemson (8-4) ⇑2

Last week: Bye

Three of the four losses are on the road. The other is to Florida State. Wins over Notre Dame and the Tar Heels land them here.

(20) Liberty (13-0) ⇑2

Last week: W 49-35 vs. New Mexico State

I'm happy to see Liberty in a good bowl game, but they got an absolutely lethal draw. I wanted to see them play Penn State or Ole Miss. Oregon is going to crush them...

Kaidon Salter deserves better.

(19) Oregon State (8-4) ⇑1

Last week: Bye

As if getting their (Beaver) teeth kicked in by their rivals in their Pac-12 swan song wasn't enough, this happened.

Unfortunately, that's what happens when you have no conference. First, the coach leaves, then the star player(s) follow. Cameron Ward promptly left Washington State as well. The Pac-12 could have avoided this whole mess if it weren't for bureaucratic greed.

(18) North Carolina State (9-3) ⇔

Last week: W 39-20 vs. North Carolina

Another late-season collapse by UNC makes their resume look a little worse than it is. They did beat Clemson, Miami, Marshall, and Virginia Tech though.

(17) Notre Dame (9-3) ⇔

Last week: Bye

The Irish don't really have any good wins left aside from the team just behind them in the rankings.

(16) Louisville (10-3) ⇔

Last week: L 6-16 vs. (5) Florida State

Losing two games to unranked teams, one at home, will drop you below other three-loss teams.

(15) Iowa (10-3*) ⇔

Last week: L 0-26 vs. (2) Michigan

If it weren't for a gaggle of dumb officials, Iowa would be an 11-win team. Oh, to be a team in the Big Ten West... that still got shut out by Michigan and Penn State.

(14) LSU (9-3) ⇔

Last week: Bye

LSU does have a better win than Arizona and three better losses. The Mississippi State game for Arizona was pre-Noah Fifita. Arizona does have more quality wins, but if you put LSU above Arizona, I won't argue. They just looked better down the stretch than LSU did.

(13) Arizona (9-3) ⇔

Last week: Bye

If we had that stupid 12-team playoff this year, I would be the one complaining about Arizona being left out. They are easily the best three-loss team in the country...but that still doesn't mean they deserve a national championship.

(12) Oklahoma (10-2) ⇔

Last week: Bye

I've been saying for weeks that there is one team that no one wants to face during bowl season. Guess who the Sooners drew?

This and no Dillon Gabriel could equal a blowout loss in a bowl game.

(11) Mississippi (10-2) ⇔

Last week: W 17-7 at Mississippi State

If Ole Miss plays poorly in the first half of the bowl game, they aren't going to win. It's one thing to do it against Monroe and a down Mississippi State team. It's quite another to do it against Penn State in the Peach Bowl.

(10) Missouri (10-2) ⇔

Last week: Bye

I could argue that Missouri's losses are almost equal to Penn State's.

(9) Penn State (10-2) ⇔

Last week: Bye

Penn State looked bad against both Ohio State and Michigan, but the fact remains that both of their losses were to top-eight teams. Missouri can't say that.

(8) Ohio State (11-1) ⇓2

Last week: Bye

The tragedy here is that we won't get to watch Marvin Harrison Jr. go nuts in the playoff this year. If you want to argue about the Buckeyes being this low, their best win was over current number 17 Notre Dame.

(7) Texas (12-1) ⇔

Last week: W 49-21 vs. (21) Oklahoma State

For the first time in history, an eight-team playoff was needed. For those of you mad about Texas being this low, yes...they had the one big win. They also had the worst loss for a one-loss team and didn't beat another team still in the top 20. Alabama has three such wins. Oregon has two.

(6) Oregon (11-2) ⇓2

Last week: L 31-34 vs. (1) Washington

Oregon lost to the number-one team twice and played a pretty tough schedule.

(5) Georgia (12-1) ⇓2

Last week: L 24-27 vs. (8) Alabama

This was a tough break for Georgia. Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey were hobbling all over the field trying to make plays to keep the team alive. The Bulldogs likely knew that they were out with a loss, which is unfortunate. The polls (and computers) have always favored teams that lose their game early.

(4) Alabama (12-1) ⇑4

Last week: W 27-24 vs. (3) Georgia

FSU and Alabama are basically interchangeable. I only put FSU ahead because of common opponents. Florida State's win over LSU was at a neutral site. Bama beat them by less at home.

(3) Florida State (13-0) ⇑2

Last week: W 16-6 vs. (16) Louisville

I said last week that Florida State didn't look like a playoff team. They did this week. The offense obviously won't be the same without Jordan Travis, but this defense is elite and they are undefeated. Florida State won a conference championship with a third-string true freshman at quarterback. That doesn't mean much to the committee, but it means something to me.

(2) Michigan (13-0) ⇔

Last week: W 26-0 vs. (15) Iowa

If you thought the Iowa offense looked bad before this, you were in for a real treat. Even a great defense can't survive when they are constantly put in horrible situations by their offense.

(1) Washington (13-0) ⇔

Last week: W 34-31 vs. (4) Oregon

Washington beat Oregon twice this year. You know...the team that the committee valued so highly based on the completion percentage of Bo Nix. Washington has been my number one for a while now, but I'm actually glad they get Texas first. It's an easier matchup.

Others Receiving Votes

• Tennessee
• North Carolina
• Tulane
• Kansas
• James Madison

Stay tuned for the final 2023 college football rankings here at RotoBaller after the bowl games!

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