Week 13 is the penultimate week of the regular season for college football, with many of the best teams in the nation using Saturday as a tune-up game before taking on a hated rival in a high-stakes matchup. While we didn't get many surprises across the nation today, there's still a bit of movement in the top 25 heading into the regular-season finale.
Let's dive into our Week 14 college football rankings following Saturday's action, projecting what the College Football Playoff Rankings after Week 13 might look like.
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No Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate , no problem for the Ohio State Buckeyes. There was a bit of a sluggish start for this offense at home on Saturday, with a three-and-out and a fumble at the goal line limiting Ohio State to 14 first-half points. They locked in after the half, with three touchdown drives covering 70-plus yards. Smith and Tate will be back for The Game, and Ohio State's defense will head into that having allowed just two touchdowns in a game twice ( Illinois and Penn State ) this season.
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The Indiana Hoosiers come out of the bye with a chance to win the Old Oaken Bucket and cap off the perfect regular season. Indiana's resume is strong, boasting a road win over a top-six team ( Oregon ) and a dominant victory (63-10 over Illinois) against another top-25 team in the College Football Playoff Rankings. Even if the Hoosiers were to lose to Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game, they'd still deserve to be ranked as a top-five team before the playoffs kick off.
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In the last six quarters, the Texas A&M Aggies have outscored opponents South Carolina and Samford 76-0. Marcel Reed looked just as confident on Saturday as he did in the second-half rally over the Gamecocks, completing 10-of-15 passes for 120 yards and three touchdowns before the backups took over. A road trip to Austin is never easy, but we now have a level of trust in this Aggies offense to believe that Texas A&M will win the Lone Star Showdown next week to cap off the perfect regular season and clinch a spot in the SEC Championship Game.
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The Georgia Bulldogs didn't play with their food at home on Saturday, dispatching Charlotte (1-10) easily thanks to a defensive clinic and clock-killing drives. The Bulldogs offense had a 40 percent third-down conversion rate, but Gunner Stockton didn't need to do much with Nate Frazier and Bo Walker combining for five touchdowns. Georgia Tech can certainly be tricky, but we don't anticipate the Bulldogs' offense being slowed down whatsoever next week.
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The Texas Tech Red Raiders' only loss this season came without their starting quarterback. This team also entered its Week 13 bye leading the nation in stop rate ( 83.5 percent ) and is in elite company with Ohio State as the only two teams to hold opponents under 1.00 points per drive (0.95). The Red Raiders should dominate West Virginia in the regular-season finale and would be the favorites in a rematch versus BYU in the Big 12 Championship Game. In short, Texas Tech controls its destiny to a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff.
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There's the signature win the Oregon Ducks resume needed. Dan Lanning's program left no doubt who was the better team on Saturday versus USC. Dante Moore played well, the Ducks' rushing attack shined, and you saw both Kenyon Sadiq and Malik Benson step up again with Oregon's top receivers still out. That's now a 10-1 record for the Ducks, and they should be heavily favored to win the Cascade Clash next week to cap off an 11-win regular season.
Related: Winners, Losers from USC Trojans vs Oregon Ducks
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Oklahoma 's turnaround is working out nicely for the Ole Miss Rebels, who really needed a signature win since LSU has plummeted out of relevancy this season. While surprises have happened in the Egg Bowl, there's really no reason to think that Lane Kiffin will allow Ole Miss to do anything but decimate the Bulldogs' defense. Besides, two weeks is more than enough to prepare for Mississippi State . That is, assuming the constant chatter of Kiffin leaving the team for LSU or Florida immediately after the game doesn't impact the on-field performance.
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It felt midway in the second quarter like Mizzou, leading 3-0, might at least have a chance to stun the Oklahoma Sooners in Week 13. Then, Isaiah Sategna took one over the middle and went untouched to the house for 87 yards. After a three-and-out, the Sooners offense got the football back at Missouri 's 35-yard line and punched it in for a 14-3 lead. It was over after that. The Sooners defense (20 percent third-down conversion rate allowed, 4 sacks, and 2 interceptions) was simply dominant again at home. Brent Venables won't let this team relax in the matchup against LSU, so we're confident the Sooners win next week and clinch their spot in the College Football Playoff.
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This blowout victory for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish requires some added context. C.J. Carr and Jeremiyah Love didn't even take the field until it was a 21-0 game midway through the first quarter, with two pick-sixes and a blocked punt return touchdown putting Syracuse in an early hole. When the Fighting Irish's offense finally took the field, it only took five plays to put up 128 yards and an additional 14 points. Maybe Notre Dame won't be quite as historically dominant versus Stanford next week, but it will be 10-2 after that game.
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There's not a ton you can take out of a home game against Eastern Illinois. Ty Simpson was picked off twice in Week 13, but the Alabama Crimson Tide put up 14 points in each quarter and allowed just 34 total yards to the Panthers offense on 13 drives, with only one of those drives gaining 10-plus yards. We're still suspect of Alabama's offensive line and rushing attack, but that won't really be tested until the College Football Playoff.
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The BYU Cougars' College Football Playoff hopes remain alive. It was a little interesting early on the road at Cincinnati, with the Bearcats only trailing 10-7 at halftime. So, LJ Martin put the offense on his back, and BYU's defense put on another excellent performance to secure a 10-win season for the program. We seem destined for a rematch in the Big 12 Championship Game between BYU and Texas Tech.
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Devon Dampier saved the Utah Utes. On a night that saw the defense give up 574 total yards, Dampier faced a 46-37 deficit with 7 minutes left in the game. He responded to the pressure-filled moment, leading a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that was capped off with a 20-yard touchdown pass and then taking it in himself for a score from 1-yard out with 56 seconds left for the go-ahead score just moments after his 59-yard run on 4th-and-1 from Utah's 39-yard line. Dampier saved Utah's season. It should be a little easier for the Utes to take down Kansas next week.
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This is what the Miami Hurricanes have been waiting for from Carson Beck . The senior quarterback finished Saturday with four passing touchdowns (tying his season-high) and an 84.4 percent completion rate, eclipsing the 300-yard mark for the first time since September 13. Just as nice for Miami, it has blown the doors off Syracuse, NC State, and Virginia Tech after that ugly overtime loss at SMU. Set to face Pittsburgh next week, we anticipate the Hurricanes defense can almost single-handedly beat the Panthers.
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It's difficult to determine where the Texas Longhorns should belong in the College Football Playoff rankings. On the one hand, you have a team that only lost 14-7 to Ohio State and delivered victories over Vanderbilt and Oklahoma. However, we also can't forget that Texas needed overtime to beat Kentucky and Mississippi State, all with a Florida loss on top of that. We'll get a definitive answer next Saturday night in the Lone Star Showdown.
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It's a nine-win season for the Vanderbilt Commodores, the program's first since 2013 and only the fifth in school history. Diego Pavia made his case on Saturday to at least receive an invite to New York City for the Heisman Trophy presentation, but a better case for that is coming next week. Vanderbilt has its chance to take down Tennessee , while the Volunteers see this rivalry game as an opportunity to humble Pavia and ensure the Commodores don't make the College Football Playoff.
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The Michigan Wolverines found themselves in an early 7-0 hole on the road against the Maryland Terrapins in Week 13. Bryce Underwood responded with three consecutive touchdown drives, with a little help from the Wolverines defense. With Justice Haynes out for the season and Jordan Marshall banged up, we just don't see a scenario where the Wolverines beat Ohio State next week.
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With two weeks to prepare for Virginia Tech, Chandler Morris and the Virginia Cavaliers shouldn't have any trouble capping off a 10-win regular season next week at home. It would be the program's first season with double-digit wins since 1989 and just the second in Virginia history. The Cavaliers may not wind up making the College Football Playoff, but kudos to Tony Elliott and Co. for likely doubling their win total from last season. If Virginia wins versus VaTech and is victorious in a bowl game, Elliott will have as many wins this season as he did in his first three seasons combined.
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For the first time in 22 years, the Tennessee Volunteers won in The Swamp. Josh Heupel's offense simply looked perfect early on Saturday night, putting up 28 points and 248 total yards on its first three drives. That set the tone for a victory that has been decades-in-the making for this football program. It's also the kind of confidence-producing win that could carryover next week back at Neyland Stadium against Vanderilt. The College Football Playoff is out of the picture for Tennessee, but defeating Vandy next week to cap off a nine-win regular season after the offseason Nico Iamaleava drama would be a massive success for Heupel.
Related: Winners, Losers from Tennessee Volunteers vs Florida Gators
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It was the inability to both run the football ( 46 rushing yards on 20 carries, 2.3 ypc ) by the USC Trojans running backs and the long-standing issues of stopping the run on the road (179 yards and 3 touchdowns allowed) that doomed Lincoln Riley in Week 13. The Trojans still deserve to be ranked as a top-25 team right now, but those glaring weaknesses proved costly in losses to Illinois, Notre Dame, and Oregon.
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Jon Sumrall joked this week that if the Tulane Green Wave are in the top 25 college football rankings, that says a lot about the rest of the programs across the country. We tend to believe he's right in some ways. What matters, though, is Tulane responded to cracking the College Football Playoff rankings by handling its business on the road against Temple . The Green Wave (9-2) don't necessarily have a good resume right now, but there are only a handful of teams left standing with two or fewer losses.
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After a tough outing against Notre Dame, the Pittsburgh Panthers rebounded in Week 13 by going on the road and putting a hurting on Georgia Tech. Freshman quarterback Mason Heintschel was phenomenal early and running back Ja'Kyrian Turner kept taking it to the Yellow Jackets defense, eclipsing the 100-yard mark on just his ninth carry of the game. The success Pitt is having with two freshmen carrying this offense is truly impressive. We're skeptical of how things go next week versus the Hurricanes defense, but this is still an eight-win team with a bright future.
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Saturday's loss to Pittsburgh puts an even bigger microscope on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets' resume. The victories for Haynes King and Brent Key this season have come against the likes of Clemson (6-5), Wake Forest (8-3), and Duke (6-5). Maybe Georgia Tech was guilty of looking past Pittsburgh and focusing on Georgia. In reality, we think this Yellow Jackets' offense gets demolished by the Bulldogs next week. If that happens, this program will have gone from 8-0 entering November to 9-4 at the end of it.
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If the college football rumors are true and Sam Leavitt departs this offseason, we have all the confidence in the world that Kenny Dillingham will keep this program on track. Two weeks after quarterback Jeff Sims rushed for 228 yards in the win over Iowa State, running back Raleek Brown eclipsed the 200-yard mark on Saturday night. Winning eight games given the injuries to Leavitt and Jordyn Tyson is a testament to Dillingham. As long as he sticks with his alma mater, we'll believe the Sun Devils can be a consistently good team.
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We again felt the James Madison Dukes should've cracked the College Football Playoff rankings last week, but the CFP committee decided otherwise. Fittingly, several of the teams at the back end of the top 25 lost while James Madison picked up its ninth consecutive win by beating Washington State at home. We're nearing the point where four-loss teams are potentially going to make the top 25 over 10-1 James Madison, which would be an awful message for the committee to send to Group of Five programs.
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With Houston (8-3), Missouri (7-4), and Illinois (7-4) losing in Week 13, we feel 10-1 North Texas deserves a spot in the College Football Playoff rankings. Beating Rice 56-24, led by a 295-yard performance from wideout Wyatt Young, might not move the needle much as it's not a 'signature' win. But the Mean Green are knocking down the opponents on their schedule, and it will be an 11-win season after North Texas wins at home against Temple.
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