The Athletic 133: CFP Rankings means it’s time to talk resumes

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We’ve reached the first week of the College Football Playoff rankings, so what should the top four look like?

According to the AP and Coaches Polls, Georgia has been ranked No. 1 and Michigan has been No. 2 for weeks. That hasn’t been the case on The Athletic 133, and I suspect it won’t be the case with the CFP Selection Committee on Tuesday night either.

The committee, like me, tries to attach great importance to what you have actually achieved. As a result, the top three here remain the same as last week: Ohio State, Georgia and Florida State.

I finally moved Michigan into the top four almost solely because of what Washington did over the last two weeks, struggling to get past Arizona State and Stanford, both 2-6 on the year. I could excuse one off-game, but not two. Michigan’s wins against Nebraska and Minnesota are also starting to look better in recent weeks. (For comparison, Georgia’s wins against Kentucky and Florida are better than what Michigan has done.)

My prediction for the CFP top four on Tuesday will be Ohio State, Florida State, Georgia and Michigan, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Washington finished at number four there.

This is always an interesting week because as soon as the CFP releases its rankings, which often differ from the polls, many voters also shift their priorities. But not here, where we try to be consistent all year long and emphasize performance.

Here is this week’s Athletic 133.

1-10

Oregon jumps to No. 6 after demolishing Utah along the way. The Ducks seem like a real championship contender. They were two yards away from knocking out Washington and remaining undefeated. Now there is no more room for mistakes.

Oklahoma falls to No. 7 after losing to Kansas, but remains ahead of Texas for now due to head-to-head results, and Ole Miss slides to No. 10 thanks to losses to Oregon State and Utah. Alabama drops to No. 9 because of Oregon, but I wouldn’t rule out the Tide returning to the CFP. This week’s LSU game is clearly the big one.

11-25

Louisville shutout Duke 23-0 to move up to No. 11; Notre Dame destroyed Pitt 58-7 to move up to No. 12. Penn State fell to No. 13 after escaping from Indiana thanks to a late touchdown and safety, but the Hoosiers had the ball with a chance to take the lead.

Oklahoma State, Kansas, Tennessee and Kansas State all jump into the top 25. The Cowboys have won four in a row and are ahead of both Kansas teams (as opposed to in both polls) because, you know, they both have defeated. Oklahoma State has clearly become a different team in the last four games with the emergence of Ollie Gordon II.

26-50

USC falls out of the top 25, dropping to No. 26 after needing a comeback and a two-point stop to beat Cal. Arizona’s win against Oregon State moves the Wildcats to No. 27, but behind USC due to head-to-head rankings. Fresno State’s one-loss win against UNLV moves the Bulldogs up to No. 28. Iowa only “fell” to No. 33 because the Hawkeyes jumped by winning teams.

Liberty is 8-0 and could very well finish the regular season at 12-0. Would it be enough to secure the Group of 5’s New Year’s Six bid? The strength of schedule is holding the Flames back so far. Troy has more than righted the ship and sits at No. 37 with his fifth straight win, the most recent coming at Texas State. SMU scored 52 points in the first half at Tulsa and moves up to No. 38, with a path to the AAC championship game.

NC State’s win against Clemson moves the Wolfpack from No. 54 to No. 39. Iowa State has won three straight games and needs a win against Oklahoma State to move up to No. 40. Colorado’s continued downward spiral has both the Buffs and inactive TCU drop .

51-75

Note: This is the time of year where I have to say that the teams of about 40 through 70 are all very close and it is very difficult to split them up. College football has a big middle.

Toledo and Miami (Ohio) have emerged as the top of the MAC, and Miami’s 30-16 win at Ohio puts the RedHawks at No. 54 and in control of the MAC East. Georgia Southern beats Georgia State and the Eagles rise to No. 52.

Georgia Tech is by far the toughest team to seed. In the past four games, the Yellow Jackets defeated Miami (Fla.) and North Carolina and lost to Bowling Green and Boston College. Your guess is as good as mine. Virginia Tech, meanwhile, has taken care of things with three straight wins. Now up to No. 63, the Hokies will play Louisville this week for second place in the ACC.

Minnesota handled Michigan State to move up to No. 66, and the wins at Nebraska and Louisiana look a lot better now. The Ragin’ Cajuns are 5-3 and just defeated South Alabama, which defeated Oklahoma State. The Huskers beat Purdue to jump to No. 70, and a bowl game now seems entirely possible.

76-100

It’s time to talk about the work David Braun has done at Northwestern. He took over a 1-11 program that had just fired Pat Fitzgerald, and the Wildcats are 4-4 with wins against Minnesota and Maryland, jumping to No. 81. That’s equal to the total number of Big Ten wins this program has produced in recent years. two years.

Arizona State entered this season without a bowl opportunity, but the Sun Devils continue to play hard for Kenny Dillingham. They nearly beat Washington last week and then beat Washington State this week to move up to No. 84. Another team that is getting better and playing hard, Stanford has beaten Colorado and battled Washington in the span of three weeks, and is moved up to No. 88. Virginia followed up last week’s loss to North Carolina by taking Miami to overtime, so the Cavaliers move up to No. 90 even with a loss.

101-133

Poor Sam Houston, constantly coming so close to his first win. The Bearkats could easily get four wins but continue to falter late. This week, they held a 27-13 lead and lost to UTEP on a last-second field goal, leaving them scoreless and No. 133.

What about Nevada? The former No. 133 has won back-to-back games against San Diego State and New Mexico. Army’s fall remains surprising, the final chapter being a 21-14 loss to UMass. Arkansas State continues to show improvement and moves to 4-4 after defeating ULM. It will be difficult to play a bowl game, but there is a path.

(Photo: John Fisher/Getty Images)