College Football Power Rankings: Week 15 (2019)
The final week of the regular season didn’t disappoint. We were treated to several compelling matchups, and we can expect more of the same for Conference Championship Week. Let’s take a look at how the top-25 teams in the land stack up as we get set for a weekend, which will provide a ton of answers.
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25) Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns, 10-2
The Ragin Cajuns closed out the regular season with a 31-30 win over ULM. The winners of the Sun Belt West division have a date with Appalachian State on Saturday to decide the conference.
24) Air Force Falcons, 10-2
Losses to Boise State and Navy are the only blemishes on the resume for a Falcons squad that closed out the season with seven straight wins. Six of those victories came by double digits.
23) Navy Midshipmen, 9-2
The Midshipmen fell to Memphis and Notre Dame this season, but the club was perfect outside of that. They still have one game to go, the traditional date with Army on December 14.
22) Cincinnati Bearcats, 10-2
Their regular season came to an end with a 34-24 road defeat at Memphis. The Bearcats don’t have to wait long for a chance at revenge, however, as the two teams meet again to decide the AAC on Saturday.
21) Virginia Cavaliers, 9-3
Bryce Perkins led the charge for a Virginia team that took down Virginia Tech on Friday to win the ACC Coastal. They’ll face Clemson in the conference championship game as big underdogs.
20) Iowa Hawkeyes, 9-3
While the season didn’t quite turn out how they envisioned, the Hawkeyes closed things out strong with three straight wins. They wrapped it up with a 27-24 road win over Nebraska.
19) Michigan Wolverines, 9-3
The hump that is Ohio State remains an obstacle that Michigan just can’t get over. They made a game of it for a little while, but the Buckeyes took control to clobber them once again by double digits.
18) Appalachian State Mountaineers, 11-1
A 48-13 victory over Troy made it four wins in a row to close out the regular season for the Mountaineers. They’ll tangle with Louisiana on Saturday to decide the Sun Belt.
17) Boise State Broncos, 11-1
A perfect record of 8-0 in conference play places the Broncos atop the MW Mountain division once again. They take on Hawaii this week with the conference on the line.
16) Memphis Tigers, 11-1
If Saturday’s victory over Cincinnati was a portender of things to come, then Memphis is about to take down the AAC. The clubs meet again this week with the winner being christened conference champion.
15) Penn State Nittany Lions, 10-2
The Nittany Lions closed out the regular season with a 27-6 victory over Rutgers. Losses to Minnesota and Ohio State over the final four games was a disappointment, but it was still a solid campaign.
14) Minnesota Golden Gophers, 10-2
The Golden Gophers came up short in Saturday’s finale versus Wisconsin, a game that decided the Big Ten West. Losses in two of the last three take a bit of the shine off of what was a great regular season.
13) Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 10-2
The Fighting Irish nabbed their 10th win of the season with a 45-24 road victory over Stanford. While there will be no return to the CFP, 10-2 versus a very tough schedule is nothing to hang your head over.
12) Oregon Ducks, 10-2
The Ducks wrapped up the regular season with a 24-10 victory over Oregon State. Two losses will keep them out of the CFP, but they still have a shot at the Pac-12 crown versus Utah.
11) Auburn Tigers, 9-3
A thrilling 48-45 victory over Alabama in the Iron Bowl caps off an impressive regular season for the Tigers. The three losses all came to teams ranked in the top 10 at game time.
10) Alabama Crimson Tide, 10-2
The loss to Auburn confirms that the Crimson Tide’s faint hopes for a CFP berth are over. The team will now play the waiting game to see where it will wind up going bowling later this month.
9) Florida Gators, 10-2
Losses to LSU and Georgia are the only marks against the Gators in 2019. The team made it to 10 wins by handling business over Florida State by a score of 40-17.
8) Wisconsin Badgers, 10-2
Consecutive losses to Illinois and Ohio State threatened to derail the season, but the Badgers bounced back to make it to the Big Ten title tilt. They’re big underdogs to Ohio State for Saturday’s showdown.
7) Baylor Bears, 11-1
The Bears can avenge their lone loss of the regular season and take down the Big 12 title in the process when they square off with Oklahoma on Saturday. The winner has a strong case for a CFP berth.
6) Oklahoma Sooners, 11-1
For the Sooners to really have a chance at getting back to the CFP, they’ll need to defeat Baylor impressively and get some help along the way. They escaped with a 3-point win in the first meeting.
5) Utah Utes, 11-1
If the Utes can handle business versus Oregon in the Pac-12 title tilt, they too will have made a good case for a playoff berth. The lone loss during the season came on the road at USC.
4) Georgia Bulldogs, 11-1
The Bulldogs control their destiny for a spot in the playoffs. If they manage to defeat LSU in Saturday’s SEC Championship game, it’s a no-brainer. A close loss wouldn’t rule them out either.
3) Clemson Tigers, 12-0
The Tigers closed out a perfect regular season with a 38-3 road domination over South Carolina. They have a date with Virginia to decide the ACC, a game for which they are heavy favorites.
2) Ohio State Buckeyes, 12-0
An undefeated regular season is impressive enough, but each of the Buckeyes victories has come by double digits to boot. They’re hefty favorites to defeat Wisconsin in the Big Ten title clash.
1) LSU Tigers, 12-0
The Tigers capped off a perfect regular season with a 50-7 thrashing of Texas A&M. The team holds four victories over Top 10 teams in its pocket as it prepares to battle Georgia to decide the SEC.
The Next 5
USC Trojans, SMU Mustangs, Oklahoma State Cowboys, Kansas State Wildcats, UCF Knights
The Trojans have the 24th spot in both the AP and Coaches polls this week. The Mustangs have just two losses, while the Cowboys and Wildcats are arguably the third- and fourth-best teams in the Big 12 this season. The Knights closed out the year at 9-3 after entering the campaign with lofty goals.
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Christopher Feery is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Christopher, check out his archive and follow him @cmfeery.