College football rankings 2023, Projected Week 13 CFP Top 25: Washington jumps FSU, Georgia dominates
- Washington stayed perfect with a gritty (and wet) win over Oregon State
- Florida State's victory marred by Jordan Travis injury
- Georgia, Ohio State dominate to keep hold of Top 2
Projected Top 25 College Football Playoff rankings after Week 12: No. 4-3
4. Washington Huskies
Finally, as fans have been hoping for over the past couple of weeks now, the Washington Huskies crack the Top 4 and would make the College Football Playoff if the season ended today. And it’s well deserved.
It was a gritty night in Corvallis with rain and cold coming down on the action against Oregon State, a team that was ranked No. 11 coming into the week. The Beavers fell behind 22-10 going into halftime with D.J. Uiagalelei throwing two picks and Michael Penix Jr. doing enough to answer in return. But the Huskies offense stalled in the second half, allowing Oregon State to claw their way back and have the ball down two late in the fourth quarter with a chance to win.
Washington’s defense came up with a huge stop and, after a big first down, that was enough to secure the 22-10 victory. The season doesn’t end today, though, and Washington will have to survive twice more, once in the Apple Cup and in the Pac-12 Championship Game, a rematch with Oregon.
3. Michigan Wolverines
We had long wondered if the Michigan sign-stealing scandal, the resulting Jim Harbaugh suspension, and an overall lacking strength of schedule would catch up to the Wolverines at any point this season, especially over their tough final stretch of the year in the last three games. They dominated Penn State with defense and their rushing attack last week, but on Saturday against Maryland on the road, we saw J.J. McCarthy and his team look exceptionally mortal.
McCarthy once again struggled or wasn’t given many opportunities to control the action through the air. Blake Corum had 94 yards and two scores but that came on 28 carries, showing a bit of inefficiency. Meanwhile, the pass defense got burned a time or two to give Michigan a real upset scare. Thanks to two Taulia Tagovailoa interceptions, they survived and picked up the 31-24 win, but the vibes have certainly been better as they head into the crucial matchup with Ohio State next Saturday.