My College Football Week 14 Rankings

For the first time this season, the committee and I have the same four teams atop the rankings, albeit in a different order.  I'm still giving Iowa more credit for going undefeated, but otherwise my top six looks a lot like theirs.  The most notable difference after that is North Carolina's position.  I've given the Tar Heels a bigger benefit of the doubt at #7, while the committee has them at 10th, likely the result of a weak resume which included two FCS opponents and an ugly week 1 loss to 3 - 9 South Carolina.  A lot of speculation has been made this week about what would happen in the event of possible upsets in conference championships.  Ohio State and Stanford (if they win) both appear in good position in the rankings (mine and the CFP committee's) should Alabama or Clemson go down.  But UNC is in a bit of a precarious spot even if they beat Clemson, at least in the eyes of Jeff Long, et al.  With this being only the second year of the playoffs,  there is still a lot of uncertainty about how this will play out, if there is indeed chaos.  Meanwhile, Oklahoma looks like a lock for a playoff spot, as does the winner between Iowa and Michigan State.

The playoff field (for now):

1. Clemson (12-0), ACC

The victory over South Carolina wasn't pretty, but it was good enough.  Just one more win, against North Carolina in the ACC Championship, and the Tigers are in the playoffs with a likely #1 seed.

2. Iowa (12-0), B1G

Like the Tigers, the Hawkeyes finished off a perfect regular season and are one more victory away from capturing a conference title and playoff berth.  Win and they're in, lose and Michigan State takes their place in the final four.

3. Alabama (11-1), SEC

The Crimson Tide took care of Auburn in the Iron Bowl in order to advance to the SEC championship and maintain their spot at #3 on my list.  Unless Florida gets their offensive issues straightened out in the next week, Alabama will cruise to a victory and get another shot at the playoffs.

4. Oklahoma (11-1), Big 12  ⇧1

Although they sit at #4 in my rankings, after taking Notre Dame's place, the Sooners may be the safest bet to reach the playoffs at this point.  They already wrapped up a Big 12 title with their dominating win over Oklahoma State and I don't foresee any scenario that would cause them to drop out of the top four.

The rest:

Rank	Team	Record	Conf	Trend
5	Michigan State	11-1	B1G	⇧1
6	Ohio State	11-1	B1G	⇧2
7	North Carolina	11-1	ACC	⇧4
8	Stanford	10-2	Pac 12	⇧5
9	Florida State	10-2	ACC	⇧5
10	Notre Dame	10-2	Indep	⇩6
11	Northwestern	10-2	B1G	⇧4
12	Baylor	9-2	Big 12	⇩5
13	Oklahoma State	10-2	Big 12	⇩4
14	TCU	10-2	Big 12	⇧3
15	Houston	11-1	AAC	⇧5
16	Florida	10-2	SEC	⇩6
17	Michigan	9-3	B1G	⇩5
18	Oregon	9-3	Pac 12	⇧3
19	Ole Miss	9-3	SEC	⇧3
20	Temple	10-2	AAC	⇧4
21	Navy	9-2	AAC	⇩5
22	Utah	9-3	Pac 12	New
23	LSU	8-3	SEC	New
24	Wisconsin	9-3	B1G	New
25	USC	8-4	Pac 12	New

Dropped from rankings: Washington State 19, UCLA 22, Toledo 23, Mississippi State 25

Previous rankings:
Week 13
Week 12
Week 11
Week 10