College Football Top 10 Power Rankings: Week 12
As you can probably imagine, not much has changed in my weekly power rankings. Every top 10 team who actually played last week held serve.
While Week 11 was one of the quieter weeks of this unique season, there’s still plenty to talk about. Let’s breakdown my top 10 as we inch closer to Thanksgiving.
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1. Alabama Crimson Tide (6-0,6-0)
Alabama’s revenge game against LSU was postponed due to COVID-19. The game hasn’t been rescheduled as of now, which might be a blessing for the Tigers. Chances were, Alabama was going to roll into Baton Rouge and obliterate the depleted defending champs. Next up for Bama is a home contest against Kentucky.
2. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (8-0, 7-0)
Kudos to Notre Dame for avoiding the massive letdown against Boston College. The Irish out-gained BC by 200 yards, but committed eight penalties and three turnovers. It wasn’t pretty, but does it really matter? If Notre Dame runs the table, they’re in the College Football Playoff, no matter how pretty it looks. Notre Dame gets the week off to prepare for a Black Friday showdown with North Carolina.
3. Ohio State Buckeyes (3-0, 3-0)
Ohio State’s canceled game against Maryland last weekend might be a blessing in disguise. The Buckeyes had the advantage of shifting their focus to the undefeated Indiana Hoosiers, who roll into Columbus this weekend. Who would’ve thought Ohio State-Indiana would be a game of the year in the Big Ten?
4. Clemson Tigers (7-1, 6-1)
Clemson had the weekend off to stew over their heartbreaking overtime loss at Notre Dame the week prior. Expect the Tigers to take out their frustrations on a Florida State team that’s in complete disarray. The Seminoles will be in big trouble Saturday morning, especially if Trevor Lawrence is back under center. Clemson needs style points to maintain control of their Playoff hopes, so don’t be surprised if they run it up.
5. Texas A&M Aggies (5-1, 5-1)
Do the Aggies really have a chance to make the College Football Playoff? Barring a collapse from Alabama, they won’t be representing the SEC West in Atlanta. And other than knocking off Florida, they don’t really have any other signature wins on their resume. Plus, I don’t even know how good this team really is. Putting them at No. 5 feels strange.
6. Florida Gators (5-1, 5-1)
As someone who bet on Arkansas +17.5 last weekend, I was saddened and surprised to see Florida run away from the Razorbacks in the second half. Florida’s lone loss came to Texas A&M earlier in the season. Yet the Gators have more control of their Playoff hopes than the Aggies do. First, Florida has to take care of business against Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Tennessee, and LSU. Then comes the real test: a date with Alabama in the SEC title game. Unlikely? Yes. Possible? Absolutely.
7. Cincinnati Bearcats (7-0, 5-0)
Cincinnati continues to make a strong case as the nation’s best non-Power 5 programs. The Bearcats demolished inferior East Carolina 55-17 last Friday night. Cincy isn’t in the clear yet, however. The Bearcats end the season with three straight road contests against UCF, Temple, and Tulsa.
8. Indiana Hoosiers (4-0, 4-0)
I’m moving the Hoosiers up one spot because you could argue they’ve already beaten more quality opponents than BYU has. Sure, Indiana doesn’t make it look quite as pretty as the Cougs. But I’m really impressed with how Indiana dominated Michigan State coming off a win against Michigan and with Ohio State looming. The Hoosiers handled the sandwich spot with ease, and now they can focus their attention on the Buckeyes.
9. BYU Cougars (8-0)
I know the Cougars can’t control their schedule. Independents had an especially hard time even fielding a schedule during this unprecedented season. But a home matchup with North Alabama this late in the season probably won’t do much to bolster BYU’s hopes of getting into a New Year’s Six bowl. The only goal should be to stay healthy before their season finale against San Diego State.
10. Wisconsin Badgers (2-0, 2-0)
It’s safe to say the Badgers had absolutely no rust after losing two games to COVID-19. Wisconsin just destroyed a Michigan program that might be undergoing some serious changes this offseason. They leaped ahead of Miami, who clawed past Virginia Tech, 25-24, last weekend.
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Matt Barbato is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Matt, check out his archive and follow him on Twitter @RealMattBarbato.