Ridley’s College Football Rankings – Week Fourteen

Last week I was on hiatus to celebrate the holiday and sadly left all my adoring followers without any rankings. So for this I apologize and offer last week’s rankings summed up in a nice little table.

This week’s rankings don’t really offer much surprise or intrigue, with the exception of a few teams here and there. The playoffs look to be set as long at the moment, but with the top six teams all in play this weekend, anything could happen. Until then, let’s enjoy the rankings!

If you need a reminder of how the rankings are calculated or what the numbers mean, you can find the explanations here.

The Rankings

1. Alabama (11-1) (100.00) [3] – It took a second-half comeback, but the Tide knocked off rival Auburn to get one win closer to the playoffs. In fact, unless they get blown out by Missouri (Bazinga!) they will still likely end up in the field.
2. Oregon (11-1) (99.51) [2] – A storybook ending for the Ducks as they must conquer the one foe that thwarted their perfect run. With the way Heisman-Trophy-winner-to-be Marcus Mariota is playing, I think they exorcise their demons.
3. TCU (10-1) (99.20) [1] – Texas proved to be little problem for the Horned Frogs and the Cyclones likely won’t be either.
4. Ohio State (11-1) (96.52) [4] – Two questions arose out of the OSU-Michigan game: can the Buckeyes win without record-setting J.T. Barrett behind center? And will the committee find a reason to skip them because they are missing their best player?
5. Florida State (12-0) (94.73) [6] – All this luck is bound to come to an end. I’m officially picking Georgia Tech to upset Florida State in the ACC Championship! (Side note: It’s really a shame there isn’t a crab-like mascot in the ACC. The stories, pictures and memes that would come from Jameis Winston losing to them would break the Internet.)
6. Baylor (10-1) (93.74) [5] – Outside of Ohio State, Baylor may have the most to gain on Saturday. A resounding performance against a talented K-State team could be all that the Bears need to leapfrog the … other teams in front of them. (Pun averted!)
7. Mississippi State (10-2) (90.57) [7] – There’s no shame in losing to Alabama and Ole Miss on the road. There’s no playoff berth in it either, but at least there is no shame.
8. Michigan State (10-2) (89.68) [10] – Enjoy the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Spartans, at least it is warm there.
9. Ole Miss (9-3) (88.70) [8] – There is no greater feeling of denying your rival of their hard fought goal.
10.  Arizona (10-2) (85.73) [13] – I have to think that Stanford will be on Rich Rodriguez’s Christmas card list this year.
11.  Wisconsin (10-2) (85.46) [11] – Although the Badgers have about as much of a shot as making the playoffs as they would finding a polar bear in Florida, I have to believe they would take immense joy out of eliminating the Buckeyes chances.
12.  Kansas State (9-2) (85.18) [12] – The Wildcats can either be a stepping stool for Baylor or the roadblock that ends the Bears hopes; the choice is theirs. Well, that and the concussed noggin of Bryce Petty.
13.  Georgia Tech (10-2) (82.34) [16] – Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, ACC Champs! Yep, that definitely has a nice ring. So long Jameis!
14.  Georgia (9-3) (82.20) [14] – The Bulldogs are maddening. They are like the kid who could have aced the ACT’s, but decided he’d rather do pot (or sell autographs) on the day of the test instead.
15.  Marshall (11-1) (81.64) [9] – The Herd stay in the top 15 based on their FBS-leading +312 point differential.
16.  Missouri (10-2) (80.14) [18] – The Tigers have to be the only team in the history of the SEC to make it to the conference championship the same season they lost to Indiana (at home, no less).
17.  Auburn (8-4) (78.24) [17] – Auburn being here is a reminder that these rankings are attempting to say that any team below them would likely suffer worse results if they had the same schedule.
18.  UCLA (9-3) (77.89) [20] – Given the Cardinal mascot, I bet Jim Mora Jr. foregoes his Christmas tree this year.
19.  Boise State (10-2) (77.84) [15] – The Broncos have found their stride, winning their last five games by an average of 25 points. One more win will clinch their spot in a New Year’s Day bowl as the highest-ranked “Other Five” team.
20.  Oklahoma (8-3) (76.26) [21] – The last few years, the Bedlam Series has provided intrigue and storylines. This year, it simply provides a betting line (if betting were legal, of course).
21.  Arizona State (9-3) (76.06) [22] – Well, at least there’s the Holiday Bowl???
22.  Clemson (9-3) (74.94) [23] – The Tigers finally got the upper hand on their in-state rival after losing to the Ol’ Ball Coach the last five meetings.
23.  LSU (8-4) (74.86) [19] – Has there ever been an 8-4 team that less schools would want to meet in a bowl game?
24.  Louisville (9-3) (72.38) [26] – The Cardinals rejoin the rankings despite barely escaping the 5-6 Wildcats at home.
25.  USC (8-4) (70.44) [24] – Cody Kessler became the first player to throw six TDs on the Irish, and he needed just 34 minutes to do it.

AP Teams That Missed the Cut

Two teams from the AP Top 25 missed the cut in this week’s rankings: Utah (24) and Nebraska (25). The Utes have three quality losses and two quality wins, but their loss against Washington State early on hurts them, dropping them to 31st.  The Cornhuskers were much closer, just missing the cut at 26th. After a late season swoon, the not only missed out on the Big Ten Championship, they more importantly lost out on my rankings, a demerit that surely cost Bo Pelini his job.

Oregon Teams Update

As mentioned, the Ducks are one win away from a playoff berth. The Beavers (88), however, will have to buy their tickets if they plan to attend any bowl games this winter. After winning four of their first five, Mike Riley’s group took a nosedive, winning just one — an upset of Arizona State — in their final seven games.

Other Notable Teams

Colorado State (27) dropped out of the top 25 after their loss to Air Force (39) … Memphis (28) continues to be one of the unsung successes of the year at 9-3 … Arkansas continues to be the best .500 team, coming in at 30th despite being 6-6 … Louisiana Tech (33) will face Marshall in the Conference USA Championship … Georgia Southern (35) continues to be the lone bright spot in the Sun Belt … That’s three spots ahead of MAC leader, Northern Illinois (38) … Notre Dame’s fall from grace has landed them at 48 … Toledo (56) is the lowest ranked eight-win team … Western Kentucky moved up to 61st after their upset of Marshall, placing them 22 spots ahead of the University of Kentucky (83) … Fresno State (87) is the lowest-ranked bowl-eligible team (unless they lose to BSU in the MWC Championship) … Vanderbilt (109) continues to be the caboose of the SEC … and our bottom five for the week are: Idaho (124), New Mexico State, Eastern Michigan, Georgia State (three Sun Belt teams!) and finally SMU, who plays Connecticut on Saturday for their last chance to finally win a game. As always, go ‘Stangs!