Two heavyweight battles in the SEC were the storylines coming into Week 12 of the college football season, and it turns out those two results had a major impact on the College Football Playoff rankings heading into Week 13. Oklahoma went on the road and upset Alabama and Georgia crushed Texas in Athens to solidify their place in the top 12.
Elsewhere, Texas A&M rallied from 27 points down at halftime to remain unbeaten with a win over South Carolina and USC survived a tough test in the rain against Iowa to stay in playoff contention.
Here are the full Week 13 College Football Playoff rankings, revealed by the selection committee on Tuesday night, with just two weeks to go in the regular season.
- Ohio State (10-0)
- Indiana (11-0)
- Texas A&M (10-0)
- Georgia (9-1)
- Texas Tech (10-1)
- Ole Miss (10-1)
- Oregon (9-1)
- Oklahoma (8-2)
- Notre Dame (8-2)
- Alabama (8-2)
- BYU (9-1)
- Utah (8-2)
- Miami (FL) (8-2)
- Vanderbilt (8-2)
- USC (8-2)
- Georgia Tech (9-1)
- Texas (7-3)
- Michigan (8-2)
- Virginia (9-2)
- Tennessee (7-3)
- Illinois (7-3)
- Missouri (7-3)
- Houston (8-2)
- Tulane (8-2)
- Arizona State (7-3)
There is no shortage of notable headlines from this edition of the rankings. First of all, Oklahoma rises not only into the projected field but into a potential host spot with its win over Alabama. The Tide drop below the Sooners and below Notre Dame to No. 10 and are now right on the cut line with the Iron Bowl looming.
Notre Dame looks safe with two games left against a pair of three-win teams, but things can change quickly in that department. Miami, which owns a head-to-head win over the Irish and an identical overall record, continues to creep up and is now at No. 13 after leapfrogging Vanderbilt. The Hurricanes are likely out of the ACC title race, but they can still steal an at-large bid.
USC also continues to rise and is now into the top 15 after a very impressive win over Iowa in the rain on Saturday. The Trojans still have a chance to crash the party if they can get to 10-2, but that requires a big win over Oregon on Saturday in Eugene.
Down at the bottom of the rankings, Tulane has replaced South Florida at No. 24 and is now the highest-ranked Group of Five team remaining with two weeks to go. Notably, Sun Belt leads James Madison is still unranked by the CFP committee despite coming in at No. 21 in the AP poll, which is bad news for the Dukes' hopes of getting in.
Week 13 is a bit of a sleepy slate compared to that of Week 12, but the USC-Oregon blockbuster is must-see TV on Saturday afternoon. Elsewhere, Oklahoma gets a chance to back up its rise in the rankings with a game at home against No. 22 Missouri.
