The Big 12 is cannibalizing itself, and that fact was fully apparent this weekend, as Oklahoma State and Kansas State both fell to conference foes from the state of Utah. Both programs have fallen out of my playoff projections, and suddenly the Big 12 team with the best chance to get an at-large bid may be BYU.
As much as I'd love to put the Cougars in this week's rankings, I must be objective (and I'll write that mantra 100 times on the chalkboard if necessary). I don't expect BYU to maintain its trajectory, even though they just dominated my projected Big 12 champion, K-State.
James Madison (the university, not the person) annihilated North Carolina on Saturday, but weak performances in the previous weeks keep me cautious about their prospect for long-term success. Boise State cracked the top 25 this week, and I believe the Broncos will earn the group of 5 bid at season's end.
College Football Playoff rankings prediction
Rank | Team | Reason | Previous week |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Texas | SEC Champion | 1 |
2 | Ohio State | Big 10 Champion | 2 |
3 | Utah | Big 12 Champion | 10 |
4 | Miami (FL) | ACC Champion | 4 |
5 | Tennessee | At-Large | 6 |
6 | Georgia | At-Large | 5 |
7 | Alabama | At-Large | 7 |
8 | Penn State | At-Large | N/A |
9 | Oregon | At-Large | N/A |
10 | Ole Miss | At-Large | 8 |
11 | Michigan | At-Large | N/A |
12 | Boise State | MWC Champion | N/A |