College Football Playoff Rankings 2019: Projected Top 25, Week 13

Memphis locked in their spot as the top Group of Five team in the next edition of the College Football Playoff selection committee’s Top 25 rankings with an 18-point victory on the road at Houston in Week 12. The Tigers remained the top team in the AAC West and made it one step closer to shoring up home-field advantage in the AAC championship game.

Brady White had a big game, throwing for 341 yards and five touchdowns on 22-of-33 passing. White did throw one interception, but he punched in a rushing touchdown to atone for his mistake. The defense also recovered a Clayton Tune fumble to leave the turnover margin null by the end of the contest. Memphis held the Cougars to 256 total yards of offense — less than half of the 537 yards piled up by the Tigers when they had the football.

Given the close call that Cincinnati suffered in their last-second win in Tampa against South Florida, the big win on the road by the Tigers will allow Memphis to leapfrog the Bearcats into position as the best-placed Group of Five team in the race for the automatic New Year’s Six bid. The Tigers head to South Florida next week to face the Bulls team that nearly upset the Bearcats before returning home for the season finale against Cincinnati.