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

Projected Top 25 College Football Playoff rankings after Week 11: No. 2-1

2. Ohio State Buckeyes

Playing a lowly Michigan State team in Columbus, the result for Saturday’s Ohio State game seemed like it might’ve been decided before either team took the field. Yet, they still played 60 minutes worth of football and the result was as expected for the Buckeyes. Marvin Harrison Jr. ran amok with three first-half touchdowns, including his first career rushing touchdown, while the OSU defense made life hell for Katin Houser and the Spartans. 

Make no mistake, Ohio State has shown some signs of improvement as the year has gone on. And anyone who is questioning the validity of Jim Knowles’ defense just isn’t using their eyes at this point. Having said that, the scares that the Buckeyes have had when Kyle McCord isn’t presented the obvious advantage of his skill players being infinitely better than the defense he’s facing, it’s been a problem. This is one of the best teams in college football, but despite the committee’s assertion for the first two CFP Top 25 rankings, I’m not sure they’re the absolute best.

1. Georgia Bulldogs

Maybe the Selection Committee will have the guts to do the right thing this week after Georgia notched a win over Ole Miss in Athens in dominant fashion. 

I pushed for Georgia to be the No. 1 team in the country last week after the win over Missouri but the committee kept Ohio State in that spot. Though the Buckeyes dominated Rutgers, the Dawgs also dominated their matchup with the Rebels, giving Kirby Smart’s team back-to-back wins over Top 15 teams in the country. Carson Beck was phenomenal as he diced up this Ole Miss defense routinely, especially with the return of Brock Bowers sooner than expected. 

With this victory, Georgia now has two wins better than both of Ohio State’s signature victories. When you then marry the eye test with this building resumé, I don’t see how Georgia isn’t ranked by the committee as No. 1. They’ve looked more impressive and now have the signature wins to back that up. The Dawgs came into the season as No. 1, and they’ll finally claim that spot in the CFP rankings.