College football rankings 2023, Projected Week 12 CFP Top 25: Georgia claims No. 1, Michigan makes statement

Coming into Week 11 of the season, this was always going to be a turning point for the College Football Playoff rankings. With Georgia facing its second major SEC test in as many weeks in Ole Miss and Michigan going on the road for by far its toughest opponent of the year in Penn State, it was proving time for a pair of Top 4 teams. But the teams elsewhere in the Top 25 were looking to avoid upsets as well.

As for Georgia and Michigan's part, they more than took care of business, especially in the case of the Dawgs. However, the other Top 25 teams in the latest CFP rankings had a bit more trouble keeping their stock on the rise.

Whether it was Kansas losing Jason Bean and then losing to Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and Tennessee getting run off of the field on the road, or a number of other close calls throughout the country, the rankings are starting to take an even clearer shape, at least based on what we know and what the Selection Committee should do.

So what will the college football rankings for the CFP Top 25 look like when the committee reveals them on Tuesday? Let's check out our projections after a wild Saturday and with just two weeks of the regular season remaining.

Projected Top 25 College Football Playoff rankings after Week 11: No. 25-21

25. Tennessee Volunteers

Can we finally stop pretending that this iteration of Tennessee is anything close to what we saw a year ago? Anyone who has watched Joe Milton at all this year could’ve told you that, but Missouri more than proved it. Frankly, you could make the argument that the Vols should no longer be ranked after a 36-7 loss, but we all know that with the Georgia game next week and their SEC pedigree, they will stay just barely inside the Top 25. 

24. Oklahoma State Cowboys

How in the world do you figure out what to do with Oklahoma State at this point? At 7-3, the Pokes have wins over Oklahoma, West Virginia, Kansas and Kansas State to their credit. They also have a loss to Iowa State and blowout losses to South Alabama and now UCF going against them. They’ll stay in the Top 25 on the strength of the wins, but this team is about as impossible to predict as any in the country. 

23. Liberty Flames

Yes, Liberty has played a Charmin-soft schedule this season in Conference USA and is clearly the best team in that league. However, going 10-0 is still enough to earn some respect from the CFP rankings and get the Flames into the Top 25. The latest exploit from Jamey Chadwell’s team was dismantling Old Dominion on Saturday, 38-10. They finish the season against a pair of 3-7 teams in UMass and UTEP, which sets Liberty up for a perfect regular season. 

22. Utah Utes

Do I truly believe that Utah is one of the 25 best teams in college football with Bryson Barnes at quarterback? Not at all. However, they continue to give spirited efforts, as you’d expect for a Kyle Whittingham team, the latest of which was putting a scare into Washington. The committee isn’t going to drop the Utes out of the Top 25 with all their losses coming against Top 15 teams in the country and with wins over UCLA, USC and even Florida. 

21. Kansas State Wildcats

I’ll be the first to admit that I wouldn’t have ranked Kansas State still after their spirited overtime loss to Texas a week ago, but the committee did. And credit to the Wildcats for responding to the loss to the Longhorns by going back to the Little Apple and beating the brakes off of Baylor. Sure, Baylor is in a bad place right now, but Will Howard set the K-State career record for touchdown passes and tallied four total scores on Saturday in the 59-25 win.