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. 8-7
8. Alabama Crimson Tide
The Iron Bowl at Jordan-Hare Stadium is often a house of horrors for Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide and rival Auburn almost made it so again on Saturday. This is despite the fact that Hugh Freeze’s team came into the contest at just 6-5 in the regular season.
One could argue that Auburn actually should have won the Iron Bowl on Saturday. They had the Tide at fourth-and-goal from the 31-yard line with under a minute left and with a 24-20 lead. The Tigers then inexplicably had eight men dropped into coverage with a senseless QB spy given the numbers dropped back while playing a soft zone. Isaiah Bond then found some space and Jalen Milroe found him for an electric and iconic moment in the game-winning score. Terrion Arnold added a pick-six as time expired to fully lock it up.
Bama is still alive for the CFP but needs big-time help. That starts next week in the one way that they can help themselves, though, and it’s no easy task: Beating Georgia.
7. Texas Longhorns
For as much as we’ve seen the Texas Longhorns play with their food this season, so to speak, perhaps it wasn’t the best idea for Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire and Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark to poke the bear. Or, if Yormark wants to see the soon-departing Longhorns turn into an unstoppable death machine to give the conference a chance at the natty before Texas bolts for the SEC, maybe it was the right thing.
Whatever the desires there are, Texas put a whoopin’ on Texas Tech in Austin on Friday night. Every which way you could imagine, the Longhorns dominated. They limited the Red Raiders to 198 total yards, put up 528 yards of their own, got playing time for Arch Manning, and ultimately won by 50. There’s no guarantee Texas is going to make the playoff but, if they continue to beat up on teams when they play Oklahoma State for the Big 12 title, it’ll be difficult to deny the resumé of Steve Sarkisian’s team.