College Football Rankings Week 12: Saturday Blitz Top 25 Poll

Slowly but surely we have been able to separate teams on a week-to-week basis as we do our Top 25. Let it be known that Saturday, Nov. 8, was the the Separation Saturday of the year. Oct. 4 let us know who the contenders were. Nov. 8 has let us know who is still in the game.

There are still 10 Power Five teams that are either undefeated or have one loss, and then there are two non-Power Five teams in the same category.

And now we can start separating many of those elite teams amongst each other. It’s time for us to put out our Week 12 Top 25 college football rankings with those separations.

Finally, in this one, we can say that the SEC is not completely dominating the Top 5. You can thank the SEC West for beating up on each other, but eventually we have to vault other 1-loss teams over 3-loss teams. And that’s exactly what we’re doing.

However, we still had to give them some respect, particularly over conferences like the Big Ten, ACC, and non-Power Five conferences. So don’t expect us to ignore the SEC for some Democratic rule to give conferences a fair representation.

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As we get set to bring you our Top 25 college football rankings, remember that these rankings are not based on eye test or how teams look. They are solely based on body of work, which includes record, schedule strength, and head-to-head. Nothing else matters when we put these together.

We also take into account quality wins and how bad the losses are.

So with all of that in mind, here is our Week 12 College Football Top 25.

1. Mississippi State Bulldogs

Dak Prescott was back to putting up Tim Tebow-like stats on Saturday as he led his team to a dominating victory over UT-Martin. Obviously, we don’t have to analyze too much why the Bulldogs beat the Skyhawks, and it’s a waste of space to even talk about it for any period of time. But at 9-0 in the brutal SEC West, the Bulldogs are inching closer to that national title picture. And with Alabama up next along with Ole Miss to close out the season, now comes the fun as we get set to find out if this team can maintain its No. 1 ranking.

2. Florida State Seminoles

We could have made a case to bump Florida State over Mississippi State since Virginia is a much more impressive win than UT-Martin. But the Bulldogs have spent the entire season putting up more impressive wins than Florida State, so we’re not changing our Top 2 because it was different for one weekend. If Florida State wants the respect, they simply have to keep winning. They’re in control of their own destiny. But they don’t deserve to be ranked ahead of an undefeated SEC team, and that won’t change the rest of the year.

3. Alabama Crimson Tide

Back in control of its own destiny for a national title, SEC title, and division title, the Alabama Crimson Tide and quarterback Blake Sims showed the heart of a champion on Saturday as they refused to lose against LSU. Even with a terrible break at the end of the game, they went right back down the field to tie the game up and win in overtime. Now, with a road win against LSU, we can safely say that this is the best resume of any one-loss team in college football right now. That is why they belong at No. 3.

4. Baylor Bears

We have been saying the Bears would be tested in November. They survived the first test against Oklahoma easily in a blowout win. Yes, we understand the hype behind TCU. But let’s acknowledge that Baylor actually beat TCU and had a much easier time with Oklahoma than the Horned Frogs did. Two one-loss teams that played each other means the tiebreaker goes to the head-to-head winner. Advantage: Baylor. And with the Big 12 the second-toughest conference this year, that forces us to put this team at No. 4 for right now.

5. TCU Horned Frogs

Sorry TCU, but you are not in control of your own destiny for the College Football Playoff yet. First you have to get in control of your own destiny for a Big 12 title. This team has looked great all year, with wins now over Oklahoma, West Virginia, and Kansas State in a very deep and tough Big 12. But we can’t put them ahead of Baylor when they lost to Baylor. Therefore, right now this is a Top 5 team. It is not yet, however, the top Big 12 team.

6. Oregon Ducks

Oregon is slowly climbing up our latter back to where they probably feel they belong, but we can’t put the Ducks in the Top 4 just yet. We can’t put them over one-loss Big 12 teams either. With only 10 teams, the Big 12 is a bloodbath conference on its own, and the Ducks simply haven’t had as impressive of a schedule yet. Michigan State now simply looks like a decent win, just like UCLA and Utah. Arizona still remains an inexcusable loss. But no reason to panic just yet.

7. Arizona State Sun Devils

Arizona State at least made things a lot easier on Saturday by knocking one team out of the College Football Playoff race with a huge win over Notre Dame. And in that win, they have firmly cemented themselves right on the same level as Oregon, which is why we have put them here. The Sun Devils are now a one-loss team in control of their own destiny for the Pac-12 title, so they deserve the same respect as the Ducks. And we are going to give it to them.

8. Ohio State Buckeyes

Ohio State is coming. Having quietly looked great ever since their loss to Virginia Tech, the Buckeyes showed just how good they are under Urban Meyer with J.T. Barrett at quarterback in a huge road upset over Michigan State Saturday. Now, the Buckeyes are clearly in prime position to win the Big Ten, and they are back in the conversation with other Power Five one-loss teams. However, we can’t put them ahead of Big 12 or Pac-12 one-loss teams. So they still need lots of help to move up, although that’s certainly possible.

9. Auburn Tigers

The Auburn Tigers finally ran out of luck with their loss to Texas A&M on Saturday, but this is a 2-loss team that still beat Ole Miss and LSU, so we’re not done with this team just yet. The Aggies, despite all the drama, are still a very good team and have only lost to other SEC West teams. With their other loss to Mississippi State and a win over Kansas State in non-conference play, these guys have simply played everybody. And due to head-to-head, we have to put them here because…

10. Ole Miss Rebels

The Ole Miss Rebels belong in the Top 10 still. Two fluke plays have kept this team from being undefeated, and their two losses are to really good teams, but in a crazy way, they still have a great chance to win the SEC West again with Auburn’s loss on Saturday. If they win out, Alabama beats Mississippi State, Auburn beats Alabama and loses to Georgia, Ole Miss goes. Wrap your head around that. At any rate, they still have an amazing win over the Tide, and we have enough evidence to keep them in the Top 10.

11. LSU Tigers

The LSU Tigers still have the best resume of any three-loss team. An overtime loss to Alabama is nothing to be ashamed of, just like losing to Mississippi State and Auburn is nothing to be ashamed of. We have got to give the Tigers some respect still, and it’s enough for us to take a three-loss SEC West team over two-loss teams from other conferences and one-loss teams in some cases. Sorry, but the SEC West is simply that stacked this year.

12. Texas A&M Aggies

Keeping with our tradition of respecting the SEC West, the Texas A&M Aggies deserve it just as much as the LSU Tigers. Those two will play in a showdown for No. 5 in the division in a few weeks, but sticking to the two teams for right now, the Aggies have earned back lots of respect after beating Auburn. This team’s only three losses are to Mississippi State, Alabama, and Ole Miss. Is that anything to be ashamed of? Of course not. So we have these guys back among the elite.

13. Kansas State Wildcats

As a 2-loss team, Kansas State could appear to be gone from the College Football Playoff race. But crazy enough, they’re not gone from the Big 12 title race. If TCU slips up somewhere and the Wildcats win out, they would win the title and vault up these rankings. We still have lots of respect for this team, but at this point it has only beaten Oklahoma, and we’re loving them because they lost to Auburn by only 6 points. That’s not enough for us to move this team any further up right now.

14. Michigan State Spartans

And there goes Michigan State. The home loss to Ohio State has completely eliminated this team from any College Football Playoff talk because no 2-loss Big Ten team is getting in. And the Buckeyes are very unlikely to lose twice to allow Michigan State to get back into the title game. This is still a very good college football team that we have lots of respect for, but they were probably the biggest victim claimed by Separation Saturday.

15. Nebraska Cornhuskers

Yes, we know this is a one-loss Big Ten team. But it’s in the Big Ten West. Who cares? We can’t put this team ahead of the Spartans, who have beaten them, yet. It’ll take another MSU loss or the Cornhuskers winning the Big Ten title before we do that. Until then, they are right where they belong. They still have a chance to vault into the College Football Playoff conversation if they do win out, but they haven’t beaten anybody yet for us to do that.

16. UCLA Bruins

The UCLA Bruins are now on a roll with Brett Hundley. It’s just a shame they had to lose those two games in the middle of the season, particularly the game they blew to Utah. Otherwise, we’d be talking about this team as a potential national title contender as well as Oregon and Arizona State. As it is, their two losses are haunting them right now.

17. Arizona Wildcats

A win against Colorado was a great rebound for the Arizona Wildcats, and this still is a very good team led by Rich Rodriguez with one of the top victories in all of college football. But these guys, like the UCLA Bruins, managed to kiss the door shut on their national title hopes with a loss to USC. This is a very deep Pac-12 division, and we respect that, but there is no way they can move into the playoff talk.

18. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Of all the teams that no longer deserve respect, it’s the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. As a two-loss team who has no wins against teams currently in the Top 25 and whose only claim to fame is playing Florida State close, these guys have nothing on their resume. And with the rest of their schedule, they’ll have nothing on their resume at the end of the season. Being 7-2 is enough to be in our Top 25. But that’s it.

19. Georgia Bulldogs

The Georgia Bulldogs managed to rebound with a great win over the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday after a terrible loss to the Florida Gators, and as a two-loss SEC team, they’re still not out of the College Football Playoff picture. But playing in the SEC East, they still aren’t that impressive yet. It’ll take wins over Auburn, Georgia Tech, and in the SEC Title game if they get there for us to give them any more love.

20. Missouri Tigers

As another two-loss SEC team, it would be a travesty to keep the Missouri Tigers out of the Top 25. The loss to Indiana is looking more clearly like a fluke everyday, and right now Gary Pinkel’s team is back in control of its own destiny for a spot in the SEC Championship game. Don’t ignore that fact. And let’s acknowledge this team in the Top 25.

21. Clemson Tigers

After such a bad start to the season, the Clemson Tigers keep winning. Sure, they may have played very sloppy against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons last Thursday. They still deserve to be in our Top 25 as a two-loss Power Five team, especially when those two losses are to Georgia and Florida State.

22. Marshall Thundering Herd

The Marshall Thundering Herd keep on winning and remain a thorn in the side of everybody who knows they don’t belong in the College Football Playoff conversation. This team deserves to be in the Top 25 thanks to the way it is playing. But anything beyond that is giving this team way too much love.

23. Duke Blue Devils

David Cutcliffe’s Duke Blue Devils remain a one-loss team with finally a comfortable victory on Saturday. This team still hasn’t beaten anybody impressive yet, and we have to take that into account, but these guys are still great. And they have a few chances to dramatically move up if they do the unthinkable. We don’t have to mention what that is.

24. Wisconsin Badgers

The Wisconsin Badgers had a good loss to LSU at the beginning of the season but then a bad loss to Northwestern that forced us to knock them out of the Top 25. But as a two-loss team that has been dominating in games and scored a few quality victories, they’re back in for right now. But this is when the Big Ten West elites clash over the next three weeks, and we’ll know where teams belong then.

25. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are a two-loss Power Five team with a few decent wins. It was between them, one-loss Colorado State, or two-loss Minnesota to put in this final spot. Georgia Tech won out but just barely. It has to be admired what Paul Johnson has done this year with this team. But they still need to beat a few more teams to move up.

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