College Football Playoff rankings: 3 teams ranked too high, 3 too low for Week 12

Thankfully, we still have plenty of time for these things to sort themselves out. After watching some college basketball, the latest College Football Playoff rankings were released on Tuesday night. With Georgia and Miami on the road to Ole Miss and Georgia Tech respectively, it was only fitting that the Selection Committee docked them a handful of spots. However, some of these rankings feel wrong...

There are three weeks left in the regular season, four if you include Army-Navy, as well as the weekend reserved for conference championship games. By the time we get to the second week of December, we will know for certain what teams will and will not belong in the 12-team playoff. Yes, there was a bit of seed stealing in the latest rankings, as well as to some extent a bit of bid thievery.

Here are the latest College Football Playoff rankings heading into Week 12 of the 2024 season.

1. Oregon Ducks: (10-0)
2. Ohio State Buckeyes: (8-1)
3. Texas Longhorns: (8-1)
4. Penn State Nittany Lions: (8-1)
5. Indiana Hoosiers: (10-0)
6. BYU Cougars: (9-0)
7. Tennessee Volunteers: (8-1)
8. Notre Dame Fighting Irish: (8-1)
9. Miami Hurricanes: (9-1)
10. Alabama Crimson Tide: (7-2)
11. Ole Miss Rebels: (8-2)
12. Georgia Bulldogs: (7-2)
13. Boise State Broncos: (8-1)
14. SMU Mustangs: (8-1)
15. Texas A&M Aggies: (7-2)
16. Kansas State Wildcats: (7-2)
17. Colorado Buffaloes: (7-2)
18. Washington State Cougars: (8-1)
19. Louisville Cardinals: (6-3)
20. Clemson Tigers: (7-2)
21. South Carolina Gamecocks: (6-3)
22. LSU Tigers: (6-3)
23. Missouri Tigers: (7-2)
24. Army Black Knights: (9-0)
25. Tulane Green Wave: (8-2)

Now that we know the rankings, here is what the 12-team College Football Playoff bracket looks like.

1. Oregon Ducks: (10-0) (Projected Big Ten champion)
2. Texas Longhorns: (8-1) (Projected SEC champion)
3. BYU Cougars: (9-0) (Projected Big 12 champion)
4. Miami Hurricanes: (9-1) (Projected ACC champion)
5. Ohio State Buckeyes: (8-1) (Projected Big Ten runner-up)
6. Penn State Nittany Lions: (8-1) (Projected Big Ten at-large)
7. Indiana Hoosiers: (10-0) (Projected Big Ten at-large)
8. Tennessee Volunteers: (8-1) (Projected SEC runner-up)
9. Notre Dame Fighting Irish: (8-1) (Projected national independent at-large)
10. Alabama Crimson Tide: (7-2) (Projected SEC at-large)
11. Ole Miss Rebels: (8-2) (Projected SEC at-large)
12. Boise State Broncos: (8-1) (Projected Mountain West/Group of Five champion)

And these would be the first four teams out of the playoff picture heading into the Week 12 slate.

• 13. Georgia Bulldogs: (7-2) (SEC)
• 14. SMU Mustangs: (8-1) (Projected ACC runner-up)
• 15. Texas A&M Aggies: (7-2) (SEC)
• 16. Kansas State Wildcats: (7-2) (Projected Big 12 runner-up)

Let's now unpack three teams that are ranked way too high this week, as well as three ranked too low.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish are ranked way too high at No. 8

Do I think Notre Dame is a playoff-caliber team? Yes. Should they be ranked No. 8? No, not even close. The Fighting Irish should be one of the last two teams in the field in any realistic machination of how the playoff could unfold. They do have a quality win over Texas A&M and potentially another one if they beat Army. The Navy win does boost their resume a bit too, but the Northern Illinois loss is awful.

That is the biggest thing I cannot get past. Northern Illinois is a 5-4 team in the MAC fighting for bowl eligibility. They will probably get there soon, mostly because they play utterly toothless Akron this week. I don't know if the Selection Committee is doing this, but it feels like the equivalent of having two losses to me. It should be viewed that way. This is way worse than Ole Miss losing to Kentucky.

At 8-1, Notre Dame may cakewalk into the playoff with its laughable final three games. Yes, Army will be tough and Virginia may be feisty, but USC may not go to a bowl game. While I do think they will get in at 11-1, and probably deservedly so, I don't think I could ever have them higher than No. 10. This team has no business hosting a home playoff game. No, they should not get in if they finish at 10-2.

Eventually, not playing in a conference will hurt this team, but I feel that it will serve them this season.

Alabama Crimson Tide are ranked way too low at No. 10

Admittedly, Alabama is one of the hardest teams to truly get your head around. I would argue that among any of the 20 or so playoff contenders left that the Crimson Tide offer the widest range of variance. Some weeks, you get a team that clobbers LSU, Missouri and Georgia in the first half. Other weeks, you get a team that loses to Tennessee, Vanderbilt, and nearly blows it vs. South Carolina.

Still, I have watched enough college football over the last two decades to know that Alabama's best is better than most other teams' best. What I am getting at is they are a threat to win multiple playoff games, no matter where they are seeded. Alabama could be the top banana or the last at-large team getting in; it does not matter. I look at the No. 10 ranking by their name and feel they should be higher.

In all honesty, if you flipped them with Notre Dame at No. 8, that might sit better with me. They have played an incredibly tough schedule with a new head coach and a quarterback who has not been healthy all season long. If Alabama and Notre Dame were the No. 8 vs. No. 9 matchup, I would take the Crimson Tide by a touchdown if it were played in South Bend, probably by two scores in Tuscaloosa.

We must reward teams getting better vs. great competition, not those who beat up on tomato cans.

Kansas State Wildcats are ranked way too high at No. 16

What are we even doing here? I have never been more convinced that the Big 12 is getting in one team and one team only than I was after last night's rankings. While I understand, in theory, why Kansas State is ranked ahead of Colorado, I know the team that is playing better football right now. Not only that, but the Buffaloes' control their own destiny to get to Arlington, but K-State does not.

This is because not all 7-2 records are created equally. Colorado's two losses are to Kansas State and traditional rival Nebraska in the non-conference, while K-State's are a bludgeoning at the hands of BYU and an abysmal loss to a borderline bowl team in Houston. The loser of Farmageddon between Iowa State and Kansas State is guaranteed to have three losses on the ledger before bowl season.

It really comes down to this for me. Is Kansas State worthy of being one of the first four teams out? Georgia and SMU most certainly do, while I would argue Texas A&M slots in properly at No. 15. I would have had Colorado at No. 16. To be totally honest, I would much rather have teams like Army, Washington State and even Clemson, South Carolina or Louisville ahead of them in these rankings.

It will all sort itself out, but K-State's loss to Houston is one of the worst any top 25 team has this year.

SMU Mustangs are ranked way too low at No. 14

This does not sit well with me. While I understand that it took a near-perfect confluence of events for SMU to fall back one spot from No. 13 to No. 14, the Mustangs are in the driver's seat to win the ACC, and not Miami. Their only loss on the year was to BYU at home in early September before they made a quarterback change. This is a much different team with Kevin Jennings starting over Preston Stone.

While SMU has not played the toughest schedule, the Ponies did annihilate Pitt. With Boston College, Virginia and Cal coming up, this team is going to get to Charlotte with an 11-1 (8-0) in all likelihood. Although an ACC Championship loss to Miami may prevent them from making the playoff entirely, why does it feel like the Selection Committee is not willing to give them the chance of other teams?

There is clearly some former Group of Five label bias holding them back. This is an ACC team, thriving in conference play in one of the better seasons in the league in recent memory. If Florida State was doing this and not them, where would SMU be slotted? What about Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech or even a Wake Forest? You get what I am saying, right? SMU should not be five spots back of Miami.

It feels as though the only way SMU is going to make the playoff is as the No. 4 seed and ACC champ.

Penn State Nittany Lions are ranked way too high at No. 4

At some point, we have to ask ourselves, what has Penn State actually done? While people are saying that the Selection Committee is operating with SEC bias, have you seen what they are doing to the only four teams worth a damn in the Big Ten? Who is the fifth best team in that league? There is not one! Penn State has fallen ass backwards into the No. 4 ranking. They have beaten no one of note...

Again, I think you could argue similar things with current projected SEC favorite Texas. Neither have beat a team currently ranked inside of the top 25 yet. They lost at home to conference foes in not the best of fashions. Yes, Texas' defeat at home to Georgia was a savage defensive beatdown. At least the Longhorns scored an offensive touchdown, something Penn State could not do vs. Ohio State...

The Nittany Lions are in a similar bucket to that of Notre Dame. If they win out, they will get in. However, I think a second loss in the final three weeks of the regular season will knock them out. Penn State is not likely to get to Indianapolis, so the Nittany Lions will probably only have a 12-game resume to put forth. There will be no pelts on the wall, only a shrug and yet another Ohio Sate loss.

Penn State is by far and away the most likely team to get a first-round home game that could lose it.

Georgia Bulldogs are ranked way too low at No. 12

This may be the team I root for, but I would argue for most other teams that would find themselves in Georgia's situation right now. Again, not all resumes are created equally. Georgia is 7-2 with two wins over a pair of top-25 teams in Clemson and Texas, but two losses on the road to two other top-25 teams in Alabama and Ole Miss. The Clemson game was in Atlanta, but none of them were in Athens.

Yes, this team is far from perfect, and no, I don't think it can win a national championship. However, I would argue that Georgia's best is still better than most other teams in playoff contention's best. The Dawgs have played arguably the toughest schedule in football, so let's punish them for that. They still have to play Tennessee and Georgia Tech this season. This is why I do not think they will be out at 9-3.

It would be very borderline, but the combination of resume and eye test could be in their favor in the end. To be quite frank, all Georgia needs to do is win its next three games over Tennessee, UMass and Georgia Tech, and they will be in. It is pretty simple. However, I look at teams ranked much higher than them and I wonder how many would Georgia be favored over head-to-head. This is so a top-12 team.

All I know is Georgia's playoff chances hinge almost entirely on how well they play vs. Tennessee.