The College Football Playoff rankings will have an all-too-familiar feel when they’re released on Tuesday, but why wait when you can see them now.
It’s deja vu all over again.
The top four College Football Playoff teams all won and the top two teams on the outside looking in prevailed so there won’t be any drama on Tuesday night’s ranking reveal.
But we did have a playoff contender officially eliminated when West Virginia gave up a pair of late touchdowns to lose to Oklahoma State. Oklahoma remains the only hope for the Big 12 to get in the playoff this year.
Outside of that, the only drama happened early when Alabama was tied with The Citadel at halftime. Yes, seriously, the toughest first-half test they got this year came from The Citadel. Clemson and Michigan had slower starts too, but Notre Dame wasted little time putting away Syracuse in what was supposed to be the best game of the week.
We have one more week before championship week that will set the field, but here are the projected College Football Playoff rankings after Week 12
1. Alabama Crimson Tide
Talk about an uncharacteristic performance from this Crimson Tide team. Despite a very good first half from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama found itself tied at 10 with The Citadel after two quarters. This was a major shock around the nation, especially after Alabama had held LSU and Mississippi State scoreless in their last two games.
Things opened up in a big way in the second half, and the Tide got right back on track. Tagovailoa found tight end Irv Smith for a 68-yard touchdown in the second half and finished 18/22 for 340 yards and three touchdowns. The running game was extremely balanced all day, and the defense figured things out after a shocking performance in the first half.
Alabama should get things on track after the second half performance. They play Auburn next week.
2. Clemson Tigers
It was a similar situation for the Tigers this week as last. The Duke Blue Devils came to town with an upset on their minds, and early on it looked like quarterback Daniel Jones and the Duke defense would give the Clemson defense some struggles. They were locked in a dogfight at halftime, leading just 14-6.
Things opened up in the second half. The Tigers found the end zone on their first two drives of the second half, both courtesy of sophomore running back Travis Etienne. Etienne only carried the ball nine times in this game but finished with nine yards per carry and the two scores. Trevor Lawrence looked good once again, throwing for 251 yards and two scores.
Right now, Clemson looks like the only team capable of playing with Alabama for four quarters of play. Their route to the playoff looks simple from here. They host in-state rival South Carolina next weekend.
3. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
The Fighting Irish are still a question mark in the minds of many. This team gets a lot of flak for some of their performances this season, but whenever this team gets put on upset alert, they rise to the occasion. It was no different today.
The Syracuse team was expected to give Notre Dame a fight to the finish on Saturday. Notre Dame opened with a punt on their first possession, but they scored on their next three possessions to build a quick 13-0 lead. After a key turnover forced by the defense, Jafar Armstrong found the end zone, and the Irish went into halftime with a 20-0 lead.
The Irish continued the pressure on defense and only allowed three points on the afternoon. The offense found the end zone twice more and won 36-3. Quarterback Ian Book had another efficient day, completing 23-37 for 292 yards and two touchdowns. The defense was the story of the day, suffocating the Orange offense with 11 sacks.
The Irish head to Thousand Oaks to take on USC next weekend, and a win will put them in the playoff.
4. Michigan Wolverines
While many are looking towards next weekend’s tilt against the Buckeyes in Columbus, Michigan first needed to take care of business against the Indiana Hoosiers. It would prove more difficult than anyone thought.
Michigan started well, getting a field goal on their first offensive possession and forcing a pick on defense. But Indiana gained steam on offense for the rest of the half. Michigan settled for a couple more field goals in the first half and found themselves trailing 17-15 at halftime.
It was almost a microcosm of the season thus far today against Indiana. The Wolverines fell down early, but got back up and improved in the second half. Running back Karan Higdon found the end zone on Michigan’s opening drive of the half, and the offense put together three more scoring drives in the second half. The defense shut down the Hoosiers in the second half, allowing just three points. Higdon’s big day on the ground and the second half defense makes Michigan look like a contender.
That will be tested in Columbus next week against Ohio State, with a trip to the Big Ten championship on the line.
First two out: Georgia, Oklahoma