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CFB media reacts to penultimate College Football Playoff rankings

By Cody Williams

Michigan running back Donovan Edwards (7) runs for a touchdown against Ohio State during the second half at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2022.
Michigan running back Donovan Edwards (7) runs for a touchdown against Ohio State during the second half at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2022. /
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The penultimate College Football Playoff rankings were revealed on Tuesday with Ohio State dropping out and the CFB media had thoughts on the Top 25.

There was an opportunity for a lot of drama to be on the table in conference championship weekend for the College Football Playoff rankings. But instead, the final week of the regular season eliminated so much of that while also really hammering down the Top 4 teams heading into the final games before the endgame CFP rankings.

Michigan went into Columbus for the first time since 2000 and dismantled rival Ohio State, most likely claiming the No. 2 spot and severely limiting the Buckeyes’ paths to make it into the Playoff. But USC beating Notre Dame to finish 11-1, LSU losing shockingly to Texas A&M, Clemson getting knocked off by South Carolina and much more shook things up.

So that led us to Tuesday night and the reveal of the next-to-last College Football Playoff rankings of this season with conference championship games looming. Here’s what they looked like.

College Football Playoff rankings: Top 25 in Week 14

  1. Georgia Bulldogs
  2. Michigan Wolverines
  3. TCU Horned Frogs
  4. USC Trojans
  5. Ohio State Buckeyes
  6. Alabama Crimson Tide
  7. Tennessee Volunteers
  8. Penn State Nittany Lions
  9. Clemson Tigers
  10. Kansas State Wildcats
  11. Utah Utes
  12. Washington Huskies
  13. Florida State Seminoles
  14. LSU Tigers
  15. Oregon State Beavers
  16. Oregon Ducks
  17. UCLA Bruins
  18. Tulane Green Wave
  19. South Carolina Gamecocks
  20. Texas Longhorns
  21. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
  22. UCF Knights
  23. North Carolina Tar Heels
  24. Mississippi State Bulldogs
  25. NC State Wolfpack

Despite the conversation that Georgia could fall to No. 2 after Michigan’s big win, the committee seemed to still value the Dawgs’ non-conference and SEC schedule more than the Wolverines’ soft non-con slate. Meanwhile, Alabama might’ve been dealt the toughest blow as they came in behind Ohio State, all but eliminating them from Playoff contention no matter what chaos ensues.

LSU was hit hard by their loss to Texas A&M as they dropped nine spots from No. 5, but that was expected. We also saw Notre Dame drop out of the Top 20 while South Carolina moved from unranked to No. 19 after consecutive Top 10 wins over Tennessee and Clemson.

College football media reactions to the penultimate 2022 CFP rankings

Looking at these rankings, here’s what the college football media had to say about the way things played out.

There is going to plenty of talk all week about the notion of Ohio State and Alabama backing in after not making their conference championship games. That’s a great debate, especially given that the Crimson Tide have two losses. And the debate is already raging after these rankings before we even see if those teams have a path in.

That path, of course, would be either TCU or USC losing in their conference championship games. But in any case, this sets the stage for what we could see this weekend and on Sunday, Dec. 4 for the final College Football Playoff rankings.

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