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. 4-3
4. Florida State Seminoles
Everyone in Tallahassee had nervous eyes on The Swamp for the heated rivalry matchup on Saturday as Florida State entered the contest facing severe adversity on the heels of losing star quarterback Jordan Travis for the rest of the season a week ago. And early on, it looked like that injury might sink the Seminoles’ CFP plans.
Florida took an early 12-0 lead and FSU backup Tate Rodemaker looked like he was drowning out there. But the Noles defense combined with Trey Benson took control of the game and got things moving in the right direction. They eventually took the lead with a second-half field goal at 17-15, but sealed the win with a third Benson touchdown.
Florida State now finishes the regular season perfect and needs a win over Louisville in the ACC title game to get into the Playoff, which they should if they end up at 13-0, Jordan Travis or not.
3. Washington Huskies
It must be written in the fine print of the college football bylaws that the Washington Huskies are not allowed to play a stress-free game of football in the month of November this season. Why that rule was written remains to be seen, but we’ve seen it play out time and again with the Apple Cup being the latest example.
Frankly, this was an ugly game for Washington. The defense got diced up for much of the game by Wazzu QB Cam Ward while the high-powered Kalen DeBoer offense led by Michael Penix was pedestrian at best. Much like last week in Corvallis, though, they continued to come up with big stops, take advantage of the right bounces of the ball, and make the right plays. The final “right play” was a game-winning 42-yard field goal from Grady Gross as time expired.
Washington finished off its perfect regular season, but the job’s not finished yet. They have a rematch with Oregon looming next week for the Pac-12 title, which they likely need to win in order to make the Playoff.