After Week 3 of the 2023 college football season, here are our updated College Football Playoff projections.
There were a couple of upsets in Week 3 of the college football season as the Tennessee Volunteers were beaten by Florida. Kansas State was also knocked off by Missouri on a 61-yard field goal.
Both losses could have an impact on the College Football Playoff race, especially Tennessee. People were wondering if the Vols could challenge Georgia in the SEC East, but after getting beat by double digits at the Swamp, it doesn’t seem like Tennessee is College Football Playoff ready.
The top four teams from last week in our projected College Football Playoff rankings struggled to win and looked sloppy. Florida State escaped with a 31-29 win over Boston College.
But does that mean that Florida State falls out of our top four? Nope. The Noles are still in our projected College Football Playoff.
The other contenders though are Ohio State, Washington, Notre Dame, Oregon, and Utah. You still can’t count out Alabama, even though the offense looked wretched on Saturday.
College football fans also shouldn’t sleep on Oklahoma and Ole Miss. Oregon State, Washington State, and UCLA are also undefeated and five-star QB Dante Moore has been lights out for the Bruins.
Plus, we are going to learn a lot in Week 4 of the college football season. Notre Dame will host Ohio State. Florida State will take on Clemson, Oregon will square off against Colorado, Utah vs. UCLA, Alabama vs. Ole Miss, Iowa vs. Penn State, and Oregon State against Washington State.
That means there are seven matchups between top-25 college football teams this week, which could cause some movement, although none of the top four teams will face a top-25 opponent, Florida State will play at Clemson.
With that in mind, here are the updated College Football Playoff projections after Week 3.
College Football Playoff Projection No.4: Florida State
If it wasn’t for the school-record 18 penalties committed by Boston College, Florida State might have suffered an upset.
The Noles weren’t all that impressive. There’s no question about that. Jordan Travis also suffered an injury in the first half but returned and everything seems fine on that front.
Florida State is just a three-point favorite this week against Clemson and this will be the second big test of the season. But the win over LSU, who looked strong this past weekend in a blowout win over LSU, is why the Noles have the edge on teams like USC, Ohio State, and Notre Dame right now.
College Football Playoff Projection No.3: Texas Longhorns
Texas struggled with Wyoming for three quarters before finally pulling away. However, that wasn’t unusual on Saturday because many ranked teams had struggles.
A bit of a letdown shouldn’t be that big of a surprise. Texas was fresh off a win at Alabama and returned home to face Wyoming from the Mountain West.
The Cowboys are a team that’s used to getting to bowl games. So they are solid and they put forth a good showing for three quarters before Quinn Ewers and company finally got going.
We actually moved Texas up slightly, because Florida State really looked asleep at the wheel on Saturday. The Longhorns head to Baylor on Saturday, before hosting Kansas. Then, comes a showdown with Oklahoma who also looks like a College Football Playoff contender.
College Football Playoff Projection No.2: Michigan Wolverines
Michigan certainly wasn’t immune from the struggles of college football contenders this past weekend and had just a one-score lead in the third quarter against Bowling Green.
A big reason for that was the fact that J.J. McCarthy, who looked spectacular during the first two weeks of the season, threw three interceptions.
Michigan only got to run 44 plays in the game against Bowling Green. Blake Corum rushed for over 100 yards and continues to look healthier.
The defense has also just allowed 16 points this season. The Wolverines have allowed just one touchdown and Michigan’s defense has only allowed six first-half points all season.
Michigan hasn’t been flawless and Rutgers could be a test this week. The Scarlet Knights are 3-0 with wins over Northwestern and Virginia Tech.
College Football Playoff Projection No.1: Georgia Bulldogs
Georgia really seemed to be in trouble when South Carolina took a 14-3 halftime lead and the Bulldogs felt like they might actually be in jeopardy.
However, in the second half, Kirby Smart’s team took over. The defense totally shut down Spencer Rattler and the Gamecocks, while the offense was able to get going enough for the Bulldogs to win the game 24-14.
Georgia rushed for 189 yards and Carson Beck completed 69 percent of his throws for 269 yards. Even if Bulldog fans are frustrated, Beck has proven he’s more than capable of keeping this title train on the tracks.
UGA takes on UAB on Saturday, before back-to-back games against Auburn and Kentucky, but the Bulldogs still don’t have a top-25 opponent on the schedule until Oct. 28.