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Mike's NCAA college football power rankings for the top 25 NCAA college football teams before Week 15 of the 2024 season. Which teams are the best contenders for the expanded playoff?
Ohio State loses to Michigan again, but it will only affect their playoff seeding, not their participation in said event. Miami's loss will have them sweating on Selection Sunday. Most of the playoff field will be set if indeed the committee keeps its word about participation in the conference championship game not negatively affecting the losing team. For the record, it should. Why? Because CCGs are a pointless money grab. If SMU gets blown out by Clemson, we won't forget it. If Oregon demolishes Penn State...the same is true. If the game is played it should matter. It doesn't matter what kind of reasoning they attach to it.
Yes, that will favor Tennessee and Ohio State. I'm okay with that because the only way to get rid of these cheesy money grabs is to have teams rebel against it. We already know that the NCAA cares nothing about what the fans want. The committee won't change that.
These rankings will vary from the AP ones because I don't go off speculation. I only go by what happened on the field. They have stabilized as the season goes on. We are even seeing some four-loss teams try to wiggle their way back in. The SEC is hard to rank because of everyone beating up on each other during conference play. The Big Ten (18)? That remains to be seen. None of the four current (in my rankings) playoff teams in that conference have played a difficult schedule.
(25) Syracuse (9-3) (NR)
Last week: W 42-38 vs. (10) Miami (FL)
The loss to Stanford is inexcusable. Kyle McCord throwing three pick-sixes against Pitt is ugly. Beating Miami and UNLV in Vegas is enough to put them back in the rankings.
(24) Texas A&M (8-4) ⇓6
Last week: L 7-17 vs. (6) Texas
The Aggies lost three of their last four games. The only "bad" loss was the Auburn game.
(23) Army (10-1) (NR)
Last week: W 29-24 vs. UTSA
Army's only loss was to a playoff team. There are plenty of teams on here without a big win. Why not Army?
(22) Illinois (9-3) ⇑2
Last week: W 38-28 at Northwestern
Beating Northwestern isn't much of an accomplishment, but it was a rivalry win on the road and everyone else lost.
(21) UNLV (10-2) ⇑2
Last week: W 38-14 vs. Nevada
The Fremont Cannon is staying in Vegas and the Rebels have a 10-win season. Whatever happens in the rematch in Boise, the Rebels can be proud of this season. Hajj-Malik Williams has been a joy to watch.
(20) Missouri (9-3) ⇑2
Last week: W 28-21 vs. Arkansas
All three Missouri losses are to ranked teams and they beat Vanderbilt and Boston College. Those aren't great wins, but they are better than anything UNLV put together.
(19) Colorado (9-3) ⇑2
Last week: W 52-0 vs. Oklahoma State
Colorado picked themselves up off the canvas, but it was too little too late. This had the potential to be a great season for Colorado. Instead, they'll have to settle for a decent bowl game. Hey, it's still a significant improvement from two years ago.
(18) Miami (FL) (10-2) ⇓8
Last week: L 38-42 at Syracuse
Do you have an issue with Iowa State being ranked higher? You shouldn't. Both teams lost to two unranked teams, but the Cyclones got a win against a ranked team. Miami did not.
(17) Iowa State (10-2) ⇑2
Last week: W 29-21 vs. (20) Kansas State
After 132 years of playing Football the Iowa State Cyclones have finally won 10 games in a season.
The drought is over! pic.twitter.com/aQDJ33Efey
— Wilson F. Ball, CFB Analyst (@WillyFoosball) December 1, 2024
Iowa State and Indiana both had their first 10-win seasons. The difference? Indiana won 11 games and lost to a ranked team. ISU lost to unranked Texas Tech and Kansas.
(16) Clemson (9-3) ⇓1
Last week: L 14-17 vs. (14) South Carolina
Clemson failed to get the big win, but two of their losses are to (if the committee is fair) playoff teams. That keeps them ahead of Miami who lost to two unranked teams.
(15) Boise State (11-1) ⇓2
Last week: W 34-18 vs. Oregon State
Boise's weak conference schedule finally caught up to them. It doesn't matter. They are the automatic bid unless they fall apart and lose to UNLV.
(14) BYU (10-2) ⇑3
Last week: W 30-18 vs. Houston
This BYU ranking is really a byproduct of having both losses happen consecutively. All in all, BYU's losses are better than Arizona State's and they beat SMU. Do you know what would be even better than a comprehensive tiebreaker? SMALLER AND BALANCED CONFERENCES! BYU is a victim of this madness. Next year, it will be someone else.
If you're going to tell me that BYU should be in over Ole Miss or Alabama, I don't disagree with you. Where we have a problem is if Iowa State beats Arizona State. Is the loss to Kansas really worse than a loss to Oklahoma or Vanderbilt? Probably not. Alabama still goes in because they beat Georgia. The win over SMU isn't comparable to a win over Georgia.
(13) Mississippi (9-3) ⇓1
Last week: W 26-14 vs. Mississippi State
If you lose to a team whose only conference win is against you...you don't deserve a shot at a title. Mississippi didn't have a bunch of skill players hurt. Nothing like that. They showed up flat. That's a problem. Mississippi has only scored more than 28 points once since September...and this is supposed to be the most prolific offense in the conference.
(12) Arizona State (10-2) ⇑4
Last week: W 49-7 at Arizona
lol ? lol ? even the mascots are getting into rivalry week…. Nice head blows pic.twitter.com/6ENlZCIkrP
— ryancorcoran (@ryancorcoran65) December 1, 2024
A big win on the road in rivalry week isn't easy, no matter what the other team looks like coming in (right, Ohio State?). The mascot fight puts this over the top.
(11) Alabama (9-3) ⇔
Last week: W 28-14 vs. Auburn
The Auburn game wasn't as close as the score indicated. That loss to Oklahoma should keep them out of the playoff. You don't lose to two 6-6 teams and get a chance at a title. One of them could be forgiven, but two? No chance. Given the Ole Miss loss to Kentucky, Bama is still ahead.
Getting destroyed by the worst Oklahoma team -- road game or not -- in the last decade (yes, this is worse than the 2022 team) is inexcusable...especially when Oklahoma backs it up by getting trampled in Red Stick.
(10) South Carolina (9-3) ⇑4
Last week: W 17-14 at (15) Clemson
You may not want to talk about good losses, but I do. LSU needed help from the officials to beat the Gamecocks. Alabama should have lost to them in Tuscaloosa. Mississippi was the only loss in which they weren't close.
This is a team that throttled A&M and destroyed a Kentucky team that beat Ole Miss. I said last week that the Gamecocks would be the best three-loss team in the country if they beat Clemson. I mean it. Right or wrong, when you lose matters.
South Carolina closed the season with six consecutive wins, three of which were against ranked teams. Alabama is lucky they got the Gamecocks before LaNorris Sellers got settled in. If this is truly about the 12 best teams and not the 12 best brands, South Carolina should be in.
(9) SMU (11-1) ⇔
Last week: W 38-6 vs. California
Honestly, SMU should be glad that Miami lost. They match up better with Clemson.
(8) Indiana (11-1) ⇔
Last week: W 66-0 vs. Purdue
I understand that Purdue is a terrible team, but this is how you handle a rival.
(7) Notre Dame (11-1) ⇔
Last week: W 49-35 at USC
I have trashed Notre Dame's schedule as much as anyone, but I will admit that wins over Army and Texas A&M are good wins. Better than any win Indiana has had. Better than BYU's win over SMU. The Irish played their way into the playoff with this destruction of Army. They held onto it with a win in the Coliseum.
Ok...it's trivia time. Which team has the most wins over bowl-eligible teams? It's not Alabama even with their four wins against top 25 teams. It's not Georgia with that top-heavy schedule. It's Notre Dame.
Nobody is talking about Notre Dame as the hottest team in the country ☘️
49-14 #19 Army
35-14 UVA
52-3 FSU
51-14 #24 Navy
31-13 Georgia TechWatch out for the Irish in The Playoff ? pic.twitter.com/717Qm08l68
— 229 Sports (@229Sports_) November 26, 2024
(6) Tennessee (10-2) ⇓1
Last week: W 36-23 at Vanderbilt
Tennessee gets one less game of wear-and-tear and gets to host a playoff game. This playoff has rendered conference championships completely irrelevant. Add a ninth conference game and get rid of these monstrosities. We don't need an "automatic bid" in football.
(5) Ohio State (10-2) ⇓3
Last week: L 10-13 vs. Michigan
In case anyone was still wondering why Michigan has beaten Ohio State in 4 straight games-
Combined rushing stats from 2021-'24: pic.twitter.com/3kuLB9VqSr
— Chillindamos (@Chillindamos1) December 2, 2024
I have no problem with "planting the flag" or players defending their turf. I do have an issue with the police pepper-spraying the players. If you don't want to be a part of it, don't go into the fracas. Interestingly, Ohio State had more fight AFTER the game than DURING.
Whatever the case, Michigan earned this win. Ohio State is overreacting. Remember when Jim Harbaugh couldn't beat Ohio State? Remember what happened when Michigan didn't fire him? If Ryan Day is the right guy, it will work itself out.
(4) Penn State (11-1) ⇓1
Last week: W 44-7 vs. Maryland
The only ranked team that Penn State beat was Illinois at home. The Big Ten (18) is very top-heavy. Maybe it wouldn't be if the top actually played more than one game against each other. The average teams in this conference are painfully average. Penn State's ranking (and Indiana's) suffer for it.
(3) Georgia (10-2) ⇑1
Last week: W 44-42 vs. Georgia Tech (8 OT)
Two-point conversions are a really dumb way to decide a football game. If you think 25 yards is too far, make the overtimes starting from the 10-yard line after the second overtime. There should be a happy medium here.
Georgia has beaten two teams who are in conference championship games this weekend and one other that's a shoo-in for an at-large bid. Yes, they deserve to be above Penn State.
(2) Texas (11-1) ⇑4
Last week: W 17-7 at (18) Texas A&M
There's the ranked road win for Texas. It's better than Penn State's ranked road win...because they don't have one.
(1) Oregon (12-0) ⇔
Last week: W 49-21 vs. Washington
No. 1 OREGON DEFEATS WASHINGTON 49-21 ??
OREGON IS NOW 12-0 FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2010 ?
THE DUCKS CAME IN YEAR 1 IN THE BIG TEN AND SWEPT IT ? ?
WOW! HOW DO YOU FEEL DUCK FANS?! pic.twitter.com/AbNx2YtaXn
— DuckZone503 (@DuckZone503) December 1, 2024
I did not see this coming after Oregon nearly lost to FCS Idaho in Week 1 and should have lost to Boise State in Week 2. Either the Big Ten (18) isn't as good as it thinks, or this Oregon team grew up a lot along the way. I think it's the latter option.
Others Receiving Votes
- Kansas State
- Memphis
- Baylor
- Tulane
- LSU
- Duke
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