Projected Final College Football Playoff bracket, Top 25 rankings: Alabama upends UGA, Florida State perseveres

Projected Final College Football Playoff rankings: No. 2-1

2. Washington Huskies

Almost from the time that the final whistle blew many weeks ago with Washington beating Oregon in their regular-season matchup, it’s felt like everyone was disrespecting the Huskies by saying that the Ducks were the better team. Furthermore, Oregon came into the Pac-12 Championship Game as nearly double-digit favorites despite the previous result. 

But the dust has settled and Washington is 13-0, 2-0 against Oregon, and the Pac-12 champions moving on into the College Football Playoff. 

Washington thoroughly dominated this game, outgaining the Ducks by by 118 yards on the night, forcing Bo Nix into one of the worst games of his time in Eugene, and simply making the plays behind Michael Penix Jr. and Dillon Johnson on offense to get the job done. Again, the doubters for the Huskies were plentiful, but this team earned its keep as a battle-tested and deserving champ that is, without question, a deserving CFP contender. 

1. Michigan Wolverines

Not that it was a shock to anyone as Jim Harbaugh returned to the sidelines on Saturday night in Indianapolis to coach a Michigan team that was more than a 20-point favorite against Iowa, but the Wolverines completely dominated the action. 

Make no mistake, this was not a stellar overall performance from the Michigan offense. J.J. McCarthy completed a lot of throws and was efficient in terms of completion rate, but the production wasn’t there. Blake Corum also scored twice to become the program’s all-time leader in rushing touchdowns, but was inefficient overall with his touches. Yet, the defense completely suffocated Iowa’s offense throughout the night to pick up the win. 

With the 13-0 season, Michigan is going to be the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff. But now the big task for the Wolverines and, more specifically, Harbaugh will be to pick up his first win in the CFP semifinals.