College Football Power Rankings: Week 12 (2019)
Week 11 of the regular season lived up to the hype. Two stellar matchups of unbeaten teams have provided us with even more clarity as the race for the College Football Playoffs continues to intensify. Let’s take a look at how the Top 25 teams in the land stack up as we get for another exciting week.
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25) Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, 8-1
The Bulldogs have won eight games in a row and sit atop the Conference USA West standings with three games to go. The team is on the road for the next two, starting Friday night at Marshall.
24) Appalachian State Mountaineers, 8-1
The Mountaineers picked up an upset road win over South Carolina. That’s the second victory over a Power Five opponent this season as they took down North Carolina earlier this year.
23) Wake Forest Demon Deacons, 7-2
The Demon Deacons fell to Virginia Tech on Saturday by a score of 36-17. That takes a little shine off of this week’s showdown with Clemson, a game they enter as huge underdogs.
22) Indiana Hoosiers, 7-2
The Hoosiers have cracked the AP Top 25 poll for the first time since 1994. The club has won four games in a row as they get set for a road date with Penn State on Saturday.
21) Navy Midshipmen, 7-1
The Midshipmen take a five-game winning streak into Notre Dame on Saturday. The team remains in the thick of the race for the AAC West division with a showdown with SMU looming for next week.
20) SMU Mustangs, 9-1
Speaking of SMU, the Mustangs rebounded from their lone loss of the season with a 59-51 victory over East Carolina. The club is on bye this week in advance of the tilt with Navy.
19) Memphis Tigers, 8-1
The Tigers have won three in a row and another team shooting for an AAC West crown. Memphis has its destiny in its hands as the team holds wins over Navy and SMU in its back pocket.
18) Boise State Broncos, 8-1
The Broncos are once again in the running for the top Group of Five program in the nation. The team has won two straight since a road loss to BYU and will be back in action versus New Mexico on Saturday.
17) Cincinnati Bearcats, 8-1
It’s now seven straight wins for the Bearcats, the team atop the AAC East standings. Cincinnati closes out the regular season with two of its last three on the road, starting Saturday at USF.
16) Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 7-2
The Fighting Irish clobbered Duke on Saturday by a score of 38-7 for the team’s second straight win since falling to Michigan. They’re home this week for an intriguing tilt with Navy.
15) Wisconsin Badgers, 7-2
The Badgers escaped with a 2-point home win over Iowa to remain alive in the race for the Big Ten West. The club is on the road this week for a date with Nebraska.
14) Michigan Wolverines, 7-2
The Wolverines handled Maryland by a score of 38-7 for its second straight convincing victory. The team has improved as the season has moved along, but the two losses are an anchor around the neck.
13) Auburn Tigers, 7-2
The Tigers sit at 7-2 and will close out the regular season with three straight games at home. While that’s a plus on its own, two of them are against Alabama and Georgia.
12) Florida Gators, 8-2
The Gators bounced back from a loss to Georgia with a 56-0 drubbing of Vanderbilt. They travel to Missouri this week, followed by a late-season bye before closing out the season versus Florida State.
11) Oklahoma Sooners, 8-1
One week after an upset loss to Kansas State, it took all that the Sooners had to escape with a 42-41 home win over Iowa State. A big road showdown with undefeated Baylor is up next.
10) Penn State Nittany Lions, 8-1
The Nittany Lions’ dreams of an undefeated season came to an end at the hands of Minnesota. The club is home for Indiana this week, followed by a road trip to Ohio State.
9) Baylor Bears, 9-0
They needed triple OT to make it happen, but the Bears remain undefeated after a victory over TCU. Saturday brings a visit from Oklahoma, a game that will help decide the Big 12.
8) Minnesota Golden Gophers, 9-0
The Golden Gophers were 6.5-point home dogs to Penn State on Saturday, but the team responded with a thrilling 31-26 win. Next up is a road trip to Iowa, followed by an away game at Northwestern.
7) Utah Utes, 8-1
The Utes had the week off in the wake of a road win over Washington. The club has won four in a row and controls its destiny in the Pac-12 South as they get set for a home date with UCLA.
6) Oregon Ducks, 8-1
The Ducks were also on bye this week and remain firmly in control of the Pac-12 North. A home date with Arizona is on tap for Saturday, followed by a trip to face Arizona State.
5) Georgia Bulldogs, 8-1
The Bulldogs defeated Missouri by a score of 27-0 for the team’s third shutout victory of 2019. A tough road trip to Auburn is up next, followed by a home date with Texas A&M.
4) Alabama Crimson Tide, 8-1
The Crimson Tide fell to LSU by a score of 46-41, but the game wasn’t as close as the final score suggested. Alabama was playing catch-up throughout and a late rally just wasn’t enough.
3) Clemson Tigers, 10-0
The Tigers are still perfect on the year after hammering NC State by a score of 55-10. A home date with Wake Forest is on tap for Saturday, followed by a week off in advance of the finale at South Carolina.
2) Ohio State Buckeyes, 9-0
The Buckeyes destroyed Maryland on Saturday and will likely do the same this week when they head to Rutgers. The rest of the way is more challenging with games against Penn State and Michigan.
1) LSU Tigers, 9-0
LSU has settled the debate on the top program in the nation with a convincing road win over Alabama. That was the fourth win over a Top 10 team in 2019 for a Tigers team that’s looking special.
The Next 5
Kansas State Wildcats, Oklahoma State Cowboys, Texas Longhorns, Texas A&M Aggies, Virginia Cavaliers
There’s a lot of parity in the Big 12 this season, so the last team standing at the end will have certainly earned it. Texas A&M has had a tough schedule, but a mark of 6-3 to date serves as a building block for next season. Virginia is tops in the ACC Coastal with two to go, but the division is far from decided.
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Christopher Feery is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Christopher, check out his archive and follow him @cmfeery.