Saturday Blitz
Fansided

College Football Playoff Rankings 2022: Projected Top 25 for Week 14

By Connor Muldowney

COLUMBUS, OHIO - NOVEMBER 26: J.J. McCarthy #9 of the Michigan Wolverines reacts after scoring a touchdown during the second half of a college football game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium on November 26, 2022 in Columbus, Ohio. The Michigan Wolverines won the game 45-23 over the Ohio State Buckeyes and clinched the Big Ten East Title. (Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OHIO - NOVEMBER 26: J.J. McCarthy #9 of the Michigan Wolverines reacts after scoring a touchdown during the second half of a college football game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Ohio Stadium on November 26, 2022 in Columbus, Ohio. The Michigan Wolverines won the game 45-23 over the Ohio State Buckeyes and clinched the Big Ten East Title. (Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 14
Next
Nov 25, 2022; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina State Wolfpack quarterback Ben Finley (10) passes the ball as North Carolina Tar Heels defensive lineman Kaimon Rucker (25) defends in the fourth quarter at Kenan Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 25, 2022; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina State Wolfpack quarterback Ben Finley (10) passes the ball as North Carolina Tar Heels defensive lineman Kaimon Rucker (25) defends in the fourth quarter at Kenan Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /

Boise State hasn’t gotten a ton of love this year despite running through the Mountain West. The Broncos beat down Utah State 42-23 this weekend and they should find their way into the playoff rankings with a chance to move up and potentially snag a New Year’s Six berth from Tulane if they get blown out in the AAC title game and Boise wins convincingly in the Mountain West.

Mack Brown’s Tar Heels choked for a second straight week. They lost last weekend to a bad Georgia Tech team and then turned around and fell in overtime to rival NC State. The Tar Heels will still be playing for a conference title, but they’ll barely be holding on to a spot in the rankings.

Sitting one spot ahead of North Carolina I think has to be NC State because the Wolfpack were the better team between the two on Friday. The Wolfpack improve to 8-4 on the year and despite this being a disappointing season given the expectations beforehand, it was a nice end, beating Drake Maye and the rival Tar Heels.

UCF raced out to a 28-0 lead in the War on I-4 on Saturday but South Florida did not quit. The Bulls stormed back to take a 39-38 lead late in the game, but Gus Malzahn’s team didn’t panic as the catch of the year was the difference in this one, 46-39. This win won’t be enough to move the Knights up, though.

How far will Notre Dame drop? That’s a tough question because I think the playoff committee is going to vault South Carolina in a big way. So if that’s the case, I see the Irish sitting at No. 21 after losing to USC on the road. It wasn’t a bad loss, but they also didn’t really feel like they had a shot as the Trojans controlled the game. That’s the justification for ranking South Carolina higher.

Home/College Football Playoff