College football rankings 2023, Projected Week 14 CFP Top 25: Michigan downs OSU, Alabama, Washington hang on
- Michigan ended Ohio States Playoff hopes with a third straight win in The Game
- Alabama and Washington held on for dear life in rivalry games
- Louisville's CFP dreams died in shades of Bluegrass
Projected Top 25 College Football Playoff rankings after Week 13: No. 15-11
15. Louisville Cardinals
Given that the CFP Selection Committee already had Louisville behind two-loss Missouri in the rankings, the Cardinals’ chances of making the Playoff seemed unlikely at best. But after Saturday, they no longer have a pulse. The Louisville defense got torn up by Ray Davis as Kentucky stunned Jeff Brohm in the Governor’s Cup with a 38-31 upset win. Now with two losses, the best the Cards can do is play spoiler for Florida State in the ACC title bout.
14. Arizona Wildcats
Oregon’s win in the rivalry formerly known as the Civil War eliminated Arizona’s slim chance to play for the Pac-12 title, but that didn’t stop Jedd Fisch from keeping this train rolling. The Wildcats poured it on ASU in the Territorial Cup as Noah Fifita continued his breakout season with 527 yards and five touchdowns in the 59-23 victory. Arizona will likely fall short of a NY6 bid, but they’ve quietly been one of the best stories in college football this season.
13. LSU Tigers
If you needed another reason why Jayden Daniels should be the Heisman Trophy winner, I present to you another monster showing against Texas A&M where LSU needed every bit to win. The game-changing play was a big run on fourth down while trailing 24-14 that sparked a Tigers comeback for the 42-30 victory, but he also finished the day with four touchdown passes and 355 yards of total offense. He’s been the best individual player in the country, and he deserves that hardware.
12. Oklahoma Sooners
Well, any concerns you might’ve had about the Oklahoma defense weren’t necessarily quelled as they finished off the regular season with a win over TCU by allowing 45 points to the Horned Frogs. Of course, that didn’t remotely matter as the Sooners hung 69 on the board for a nice victory that moves them to 10-2 in the regular season. Oklahoma State’s win means no rematch with Texas, though, so now OU will have to wait to see if they can get into a New Year’s Six contest.
11. Ole Miss Rebels
The Egg Bowl is always among the wildest rivalry games every season and this year was no exception. Ole Miss prevailed in a 17-7 victory, but it looked much more difficult for Lane Kiffin’s team than it should have against a truly broken Mississippi State team that recently fired Zach Arnett and is just trying to hold it together. A win is a win, though, and the Rebels are now 10-2 in the regular season for the second time under Kiffin, which hadn’t been done in Oxford prior to his arrival.