Projected college football rankings after Colorado rout, Boise State statement
Black Friday wasn't a dark day for the Colorado Buffaloes or Boise State Broncos. The two College Football Playoff hopefuls faced tricky tests to end their regular seasons. Both passed with flying colors.
Colorado needed a win to keep their hopes of making it to the Big 12 Championship Game alive. They thrashed Oklahoma State 52-0 in a performance that likely won two-way phenom Travis Hunter the Heisman. The wide receiver-cornerback caught three touchdown passes while racking up 116 yards receiving. As if that wasn't impressive enough, he picked off a pass on defense.
Boise State's Ashton Jeanty made his own Heisman statement with 226 yards and a touchdown as the Broncos bested the Oregon State Beavers, 34-18. As the highest-ranked Group of 5 school, are heading to the Mountain West Championship Game with a CFP bid on the line.
After those impressive wins, where should the Buffaloes and Broncos land in the next set of college football rankings? And what about Tulane after their Thanksgiving loss to Memphis?
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Projected college football rankings after Colorado, Boise State win
- Oregon Ducks
- Ohio State Buckeyes
- Texas Longhorns
- Penn State Nittany Lions
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish
- Miami Hurricanes
- Georgia Bulldogs
- Tennessee Volunteers
- SMU Cougars
- Indiana Hoosiers
- Clemson Tigers
- Boise State Broncos
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- Ole Miss Rebels
- Arizona State Sun Devils
- Iowa State Cyclones
- BYU Cougars
- South Carolina Gamecocks
- Missouri Tigers
- Texas A&M Aggies
- Colorado Buffaloes
- UNLV Rebels
- Illinois Fighting Illini
- Memphis Tigers
- Army Black Knights
Despite their victory, Boise State actually drops in my projected rankings. That's because rankings are dynamic and aren't governed by one result. In this case, the Clemson Tigers leapfrog the Broncos on the strength of their projected win over South Carolina.
We've seen the College Football Playoff Committee resist lifting Boise State up much higher than No. 11 or 12. I think they'd be happy to reward Clemson for a win even if it means dropping the Broncos. Is it fair? Not particularly, but this P4/G5 system has never much cared for fairness.
The Buffaloes get a boost from their big win over Oklahoma State, but not a big enough one to put them ahead of the SEC trip of South Carolina, Missouri and Texas A&M. Is that fair either? Not really, but if there's one thing you can count on, it's that SEC teams get given an edge over the Big 12.
In the end, Colorado's ranking isn't what matters. It's what happens elsewhere in the Big 12 that determines if they'll play next week with a chance to rise much higher.
As for Tulane, their loss to Memphis created a huge sigh of relief for the Big 12 in general. With three losses, they fall out of these predicted rankings and the College Football Playoff picture. There was a potential scenario where Boise State and Tulane outranked the Big 12 champion, claiming CFP bids over that Power 4 conference. That scenario is now dead.
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