College Football Playoff Top 25 projections: Deion Sanders' Colorado not in top 20 while Boise State surges
The weekly College Football Playoff rankings are coming again. It's next week's final rankings that are pivotal, but this week's set will give an early preview of where the various playoff contenders stand. Here's an early projection on whose playoff stock is going up or down ahead of the official release later this evening.
College Football Playoff projections
Teams going up
Georgia
Georgia fought off a potential disastrous loss in an overtime epic against Georgia Tech. But by winning, the Bulldogs probably make a solid jump ahead in the playoff rankings. Georgia entered the week at No. 7, but will likely just rise to around No. 5 in tonight's playoff rankings.
SMU
SMU was already locked into the ACC title game, but a collection of circumstances boosted their situation even more. That's aside from the Mustangs' easy win over California.
Meanwhile, the two teams right behind SMU in the ACC standings, Clemson and Miami, both took Week 14 losses. In essence, SMU will make only a small move up in the standings.
SMU probably goes from No. 9 up to about No. 8. But the long-term situation here is that SMU has some viability as a second ACC team, even if they lose to Clemson in the ACC title game.
Syracuse
Syracuse's victory over Miami does jump the Orange into the CFP rankings, like around No. 20. Unfortunately for Syracuse, it won't move the needle in terms of actual playoff participation, but the public relations element of being in the top 25 will help the program moving forward.
Boise State
The Broncos will probably climb a notch, likely jumping from No. 11 to No. 10 or so. Boise took care of business against Oregon State and is now a win over UNLV away from guaranteeing their playoff season.
While other teams, including Colorado and Missouri, climbed off of wins, those teams didn't climb enough to impact the playoff race, and thus get only a name check here.
Teams going down
Ohio State
The Buckeyes' fourth consecutive loss to Michigan will certainly drop them in the CFP rankings. Ohio State was No. 2, but they'll likely fall to around No. 6 after the defeat.
The good news for Ohio State is that the ranking decline shouldn't have any meaningful impact on the Buckeyes' playoff situation. But, it is a reminder of OSU's vulnerability against even a fairly average Michigan team.
Miami
The Hurricanes lost a potential spot in the ACC title game and also fell outside of the playoff bubble. Miami entered the week ranked No. 6 in the playoff race, but their untimely loss to Syracuse will drop the Hurricanes to around No. 11.
Given the automatic bid to the Big 12 champion, Miami is probably outside the playoff and can't win their way in with the ACC title game.
Texas A&M
A&M had a chance to take down Texas and jump into the SEC title game. Instead, they lost and will probably fall out of the Top 25 in the rankings. A week ago, A&M was No. 20 and had a chance to leap up within the realm of CFP possibility. That's gone now.
Clemson
On one side, Clemson did have a good week because they qualified for the ACC championship game and could still win their way into the playoff. But at the same time, a loss to in-state rival South Carolina will drop the Tigers.
Clemson was No. 12 in the rankings but will fall to around No. 17 with the defeat. Basically, Clemson has to win the ACC crown to reach the playoff.
Predicted Playoff Top 10
Here's a prediction for the Top 10 for tonight's playoff rankings:
1. Oregon
2. Texas
3. Notre Dame
4. Penn State
5. Georgia
6. Ohio State
7. Tennessee
8. SMU
9. Indiana
10. Boise State
What do you think of our playoff predictions? Share your thoughts below in our comments section!