Projected Top 25 College Football Playoff rankings after Week 9: No. 4-3
4. Florida State Seminoles
For reasons that, frankly, remain unclear to me, there were some people putting Florida State on upset alert this week as they went on the road to play Wake Forest. That seemed silly from the moment that take was unleashed. And it only looked more so as the game went on from the Seminoles with Jordan Travis, in the midst of a remarkably good 2023 campaign already, had arguably his best game of the season.
Travis finished the game throwing for 359 yards and three touchdowns, adding a rushing score as well. The playmakers showed up big too as Keon Coleman hauled in two scores and Trey Benson added 155 yards of offense and a pair of touchdowns as well. It was the best game we’ve seen from Mike Norvell’s team from top-to-bottom in a while, and bodes well for the Noles as they remain firmly in the ACC driver’s seat.
3. Ohio State Buckeyes
Once again, it wasn’t pretty for the Ohio State Buckeyes, but the resumé that the Playoff Selection Committee will be looking for Ryan Day’s team is undeniable at this point.
Playing at Camp Randall in Madison on Saturday night, it was the same refrain for the OSU offense that we’ve seen over the past few weeks. The offense was hit-or-miss, particularly Kyle McCord, when Marvin Harrison Jr. wasn’t the target. Perhaps the silver lining was the rushing attack finding life for the first time in a while with TreVeyon Henderson returning, but the defense again was the calling card.
You still wonder how Ohio State will measure up on the field against a team like Michigan or another viable national championship contender, but wins over Notre Dame and Penn State will bolster the Buckeyes comfortably in the Top 4 when the first CFP rankings are revealed.