AP Top 25, Week 14: 3 teams College Football Playoff will have ranked higher, 3 lower

Week 13 of the 2024 college football season will be one we remember forever. The penultimate week of the regular season gave us so many upsets and so many ranked teams going down. Alabama, Army, BYU, Colorado, Indiana, Ole Miss and Texas A&M all lost. Boise State, Iowa State and Penn State were nearly upset. All the while, we are trying to move heaven and earth to create a playoff bracket.

While we will have to wait until Tuesday night before the latest College Football Playoff rankings come out, the latest AP Top 25 Poll could be an indicator as to where the Selection Committee is leading. Then again, the Selection Committee operates to the beat of its own drum. Always has, always will. All that matters is being one of the 12 teams situated within its newfangled playoff bracket for the ages.

Here is what the Associated Press believes are the 25 best college football teams entering Week 14.

1. Oregon Ducks (11-0) (1,525 points, 61 first-place votes)
2. Ohio State Buckeyes (10-1) (1,463 points)
3. Texas Longhorns (10-1) (1,395 points)
4. Penn State Nittany Lions (10-1) (1,301 points)
5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-1) (1,278 points)
6. Georgia Bulldogs (9-2) (1,242 points)
7. Tennessee Volunteers (9-2) (1,110 points)
8. Miami Hurricanes (10-1) (1,096 points)
9. SMU Mustangs (10-1) (1,001 points)
10. Indiana Hoosiers (10-1) (998 points)
11. Boise State Broncos (10-1) (984 points)
12. Clemson Tigers (9-2) (789 points)
13. Alabama Crimson Tide (8-3) (739 points)
14. Arizona State Sun Devils (9-2) (727 points)
15. Ole Miss Rebels (8-3) (661 points)
16. South Carolina Gamecocks (8-3) (639 points)
17. Iowa State Cyclones (9-2) (498 points)
18. Tulane Green Wave (9-2) (446 points)
19. BYU Cougars (9-2) (445 points)
20. Texas A&M Aggies (8-3) (399 points)
21. UNLV Rebels (9-2) (231 points)
22. Illinois Fighting Illini (8-3) (188 points)
23. Colorado Buffaloes (8-3) (161 points)
24. Missouri Tigers (8-3) (142 points)
25. Army Black Knights (9-1) (133 points)

Here is every team the Associated Press decided to give at least one vote to ahead of Week 14.

• Kansas State Wildcats (98 points)
• Memphis Tigers (46 points)
• Syracuse Orange (37 points)
• Louisville Cardinals (24 points)
• Washington State Cougars (10 points)
• Duke Blue Devils (6 points)
• Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (5 points)
• Florida Gators (4 points)
• LSU Tigers (2 points)
• Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (2 points)

Here are three teams the Selection Committee will rank higher than the AP, and three it will rank lower.

College Football Playoff will rank Colorado Buffaloes higher than No. 23

I have a feeling the four serious contenders to potentially get to the Big 12 Championship Game and when it will be grouped closer together by the Selection Committee than how the Associated Press views this. What I am getting at is we will not be looking at a nine-team range between Arizona State at No. 14 and Colorado all the way down at No. 23. I think Colorado will be slotted a few spots higher.

This will be done to justify having as many teams of intrigue possible vying for one playoff spot in the Big 12. I would be okay with Arizona State staying at No. 14, as long as No. 19 BYU and No. 23 Colorado move up a few spots. Iowa State at No. 17 feels justifiable and right. While Colorado does have three losses on the year, their best can beat anyone's best in the Big 12 and that should matter.

I would be shocked if Colorado is ranked any lower than No. 23, possibly as high as No. 20 in the CFP.

College Football Playoff will rank Georgia Bulldogs lower than No. 6

Entering the final week of the regular season, Georgia is viewed as the best two-loss team in the country. The Dawgs will face the winner of The Lone Star Showdown between Texas and Texas A&M in the SEC Championship. As long as Georgia beats Georgia Tech in Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate, I would be stunned if the Selection Committee kept them out of the playoff for having to play an extra game.

However, I think they will be ranked closer to No. 8 than to No. 6 in the upcoming College Football Playoff rankings. This is because the ACC has a pair of one-loss teams vying for potentially multiple spots in the playoff in Miami and SMU. Clemson is right on their tails with two losses. Georgia will be ranked ahead of definitively Clemson and SMU, but I cannot guarantee they will be ahead of Miami.

If Georgia enters rivalry week ranked inside of the top six, I have a hard time seeing them falling out.

College Football Playoff will rank Texas A&M Aggies higher than No. 20

For similar reasons to Colorado, I have a hard time seeing Texas A&M being ranked where they are. While I don't think they are of playoff quality anymore either, they are entering rivalry week with a chance at getting to their respective conference championships. If Texas A&M beats Texas in The Lone Star Showdown, that will get them to Atlanta at 9-3 (6-2) with an outside shot at getting in.

I don't agree with it, but I could see Texas A&M being a few spots higher, possibly as high as No. 18 entering the final week of the regular season. This would be done to create the most compelling game possible from a rankings and ratings standpoint vs. the Longhorns. The Selection Committee will want to set up Texas to have at the very least another quality loss should they fall to Texas A&M.

I don't know if Texas A&M is the worst team that can still make the playoff, but they are hanging on.

College Football Playoff will rank Ole Miss Rebels lower than No. 15

It was as shocking to see Ole Miss be ranked No. 15 as it was to see them losing to Florida. At 8-3, there is virtually no chance for the Rebels to make the playoff now. They still have two quality wins over Georgia and South Carolina, but none of their defeats are even remotely quality. I just think that there are a handful of teams ranked behind them by the AP who actually have something to play for.

While the Selection Committee may be propping up Ole Miss to help get another SEC team into the field, their resume is looking worse and worse by the day. I know they slaughtered South Carolina, but the Gamecocks would have a far more compelling resume to get in at 9-3 with an additional win over Clemson. South Carolina is a pipe dream candidate to get in, and I would say the same for Ole Miss.

I don't think Ole Miss will be ranked in the 20s, but they will be in the very high teens on Tuesday night.

College Football Playoff will rank Miami Hurricanes higher than No. 8

I may be totally wrong in this, but I fully expect for Miami to be ranked a few spots higher than No. 8 in Tuesday night's playoff rankings. I would not have them ahead of Notre Dame because the Hurricanes do not have a quality win on their resume. My thought is the Selection Committee could easily slot them over Tennessee, and maybe even over Georgia, to be ranked inside of the top six for this week.

With Alabama, Ole Miss and Texas A&M all losing for a third time, it has opened up a very obvious pathway for the ACC to get two teams in. The ACC Champion between SMU and either Miami or Clemson will get in. The loser still has a shot if it is SMU or Miami. I don't think a 10-2 (6-2) Miami team gets in, but a 10-2 Clemson might because they would have picked up a big win over South Carolina.

Miami being ranked a few spots higher breathes into life the possibly of the ACC getting two teams in.

College Football Playoff will rank Tennessee Volunteers lower than No. 7

Only a week ago, the Tennessee Volunteers were dead to rights when it came to making the playoff. They were 8-2 with losses to Arkansas and Georgia. They had a quality win over Alabama, but that is now a three-loss team. The UTEP win should have done nothing for them moving up. I don't think beating Vanderbilt next week will help them out that much either. They are in, but should only barely.

Tennessee at No. 7 definitely helps Georgia and other SEC teams vying for playoff inclusion. However, I would say that their resume is not all that much different than what teams like Boise State, Indiana, SMU and Clemson have put together. I understand that they have blown bad teams out, but they have only been good, but not great against consistently some of the best competition they have faced.

Tennessee should be ranked No. 8, possibly as low as No. 10 heading into their Vanderbilt rivalry.