College Football Playoff Rankings: CBS Sports predicts fourth CFP Top 25

CBS Sports has updated their College Football Playoff projections ahead of the fourth College Football Playoff Rankings reveal on Tuesday evening. With only one week remaining in the regular season, there’s bound to be a ton of stock put into this week’s iteration. 

Many teams made statements in Week 13, with Oregon at the forefront. They notched a huge win over rival USC, setting up a massive Week 14 clash with Washington, although the Ducks might already have punched their ticket to the 12-team dance.

As for the rest of this week’s CFP rankings? Well, you’ll have to wait until tonight to find out — or check out CBS Sports’ predictions for a baseline. They’re below in all of their glory.

1. Ohio State

Good teams are supposed to cruise late in the year against inferior opponents, and Ohio State certainly did that. Any time you can rack up 254 yards and four touchdowns on the ground it’s likely to be relatively smooth smooth sailing.

Quarterback Julian Sayin continued his Heisman Trophy campaign, though it was a light day’s work. He finished with 157 yards passing and two touchdowns in the ho-hum win for the Buckeyes.

2. Indiana

Indiana was on a bye week after skating by Wisconsin the week prior. Indiana has only had a handful of close games, with Penn State, Oregon and Iowa the only schools to keep things close against the high-powered Hoosiers.

Can Curt Cignetti’s squad keep it rolling in the finale against Purdue on the road? There’s a lot riding on it, including a potential first-round playoff bye and Fernando Mendoza’s Heisman Trophy hopes.

3. Texas A&M

Texas A&M’s defense was the story in the game against Samford, keeping the Bulldogs from doing just about anything. It was the epitome of a top 25 team taking on an overmatched opponent. Samford totaled less than 100 yards of total offense, picking up 46 yards passing and 31 yards rushing.

The Texas A&M offense, meanwhile, had a well-balanced day. Four quarterbacks threw passes. Marcel Reed threw three touchdowns before exciting. Meanwhile, Amari Daniels topped 100 yards on the ground to lead a 247-yard team effort.

4. Georgia

Like Texas A&M, the defense was the story of the day in Athens, though it wasn’t quite as pronounced. Georgia gave up 169 total yards in the contest, keeping Charlotte at bay throughout the afternoon.

Quarterback Gunner Stockton was held without a touchdown and did throw an interception. But Georgia leaned on the ground game for five scores and a relatively easy win over a very overmatched Charlotte team.

5. Texas Tech

Few teams in college football are as hot as Texas Tech right now. The Red Raiders have piled up a month’s straight worth of blowout victories, dating back to the lone loss of the season against Arizona State.

There remains one tricky game left on the schedule, though. A regular season finale on the road at West Virginia is the last test remaining before a potential Big 12 title game appearance and the playoff.

6. Ole Miss

There aren’t a lot of teams that will have had as chaotic a bye week as Ole Miss, which is in the middle of a tug-of-war over coach Lane Kiffin‘s services. Florida and LSU have both come calling and Ole Miss is at least trying to fend off the advances enough to finish out a really strong regular season.

The Rebels will have one game remaining against rival Mississippi State. Win that one, though, and Ole Miss should be into the playoff field as one of the strongest top 25 teams in the country.

7. Oregon

Oregon had one of the more challenging two-game stretches to finish the season, taking on USC and then Washington. Well, the first test has been passed with flying colors, as the Ducks cruised on Saturday and never broke much of a sweat.

Quarterback Dante Moore was sharp when it mattered most. He was picked off once but threw two absolute dimes for touchdowns in the contest. He finished with 257 yards and continues to look the part of a Heisman Trophy finalist.

8. Oklahoma

Beau Pribula returned at quarterback for Missouri, a remarkably quick recovery following a scary injury a few weeks back. But Oklahoma’s defense kept him out of sorts. He threw two interceptions and did not find the end zone.

Meanwhile, John Mateer needed a ton of volume to achieve 173 yards passing and two touchdowns. He threw 30 passes, completing only 14 of them. Still, it was enough to eke out an all-important win that preserved playoff hopes.

9. Notre Dame

Notre Dame continues to cruise and running back Jeremiyah Love continues to make a case to be a Heisman Trophy finalist. Love was once again fantastic on Saturday, this time needing only eight carries to rush for 171 yards and three scores.

The game was over by the time the second quarter hit, as Notre Dame hung half its 70-point total in the first quarter. Survive and advance is the name of the game for the Fighting Irish, who remain highly ranked highly ahead of the regular season finale at Stanford.

10. Alabama

It was a perfectly balanced effort for Alabama, which scored exactly 14 points in each quarter and finished with 270 passing yards and 269 rushing yards in the contest. Seriously, does it get more symmetrical than that?

Alabama used its overmatched opponent to rest and recover and get plenty of different folks reps. Three quarterbacks threw at least five passes on Saturday, and the backups were sharp. All that is left is the game against Auburn, which will determine whether Alabama reaches the SEC Championship Game and the playoff.

11. BYU
12. Utah
13. Miami
14. Vanderbilt
15. Texas
16. Michigan
17. USC
18. Virginia
19. Tennessee
20. Pittsburgh
21. Georgia Tech
22. Tulane
23. Arizona State
24. SMU
25. Washington

Hypothetical College Football Playoff Bracket via CBS Sports:

No. 5 Texas Tech vs. No. 12 (No. 22) Tulane | Winner plays No. 4 Georgia
No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 11 (No. 15) Miami | Winner plays No. 3 Texas A&M
No. 7 Oregon vs. No. 10 Alabama | Winner plays No. 2 Indiana
No. 8 Oklahoma vs. No. 9 Notre Dame | Winner plays No. 1 Ohio State