How would you rank all 14 teams in the SEC? Or all 10 in the Big 12? Here’s a full ranking of every team in every Power 5 conference.
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SEC
There’s no question now: LSU is the class of the SEC.
What the Tigers did by going into Alabama and snapping the Tide’s 31-game home winning streak removed any doubt. The way Joe Burrow threw for nearly 400 yards was convincing. His receivers are nothing if not elite. And, by the way, running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire is sneaky good.
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Does Georgia, the presumptive pick to come out the East, have what it takes to derail LSU’s playoff hopes in a potential SEC championship game? Maybe not, but the Bulldogs are back trending in the right direction after beating Florida and Missouri in consecutive weeks.
Injuries are a concern on the offensive line and at receiver where Lawrence Cager is banged up. But Kirby Smart’s defense is legit and it will be fun to watch it go head to head with Burrow & Co. on a neutral field.
Don’t worry, though, we’ve still got a long way to go before than. And Auburn, which has fallen off the radar a bit, will be at the center of it all as it hosts a couple of pivotal games against Georgia and Alabama down the stretch. — Alex Scarborough
1. LSU
2. Alabama
3. Georgia
4. Florida
5. Auburn
6. Texas A&M
7. Tennessee
8. Kentucky
9. Missouri
10. Mississippi State
11. South Carolina
12. Ole Miss
13. Vanderbilt
14. Arkansas
Big Ten
Justin Fields throws three touchdown passes and runs in another score as No. 1 Ohio State beats Maryland 73-14.
Ohio State still has not faltered this season and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down with only three games left on the schedule. With or without defensive end Chase Young, this is still one of the top two teams in the country. That hasn’t changed, but what has changed is where Minnesota sits in the rankings. The Gophers have continued to rise in the power rankings each week, and after a huge win against No. 4 ranked Penn State, Minnesota is now the No. 2 team in the conference. These last three games of the season are going to prove difficult for a lot of the teams near the top, though, with Ohio State finishing the season with Penn State and Michigan. The Wolverines have to play the Buckeyes, but also have to go through rival Michigan State and Indiana. These rankings could still look much different by season’s end. — Tom VanHaaren
1. Ohio State
2. Minnesota
3. Penn State
4. Wisconsin
5. Michigan
6. Iowa
7. Indiana
8. Illinois
9. Michigan State
10. Purdue
11. Nebraska
12. Maryland
13. Northwestern
14. Rutgers
Big 12
Iowa State scores a touchdown, and instead of kicking the extra point to tie the game, the Cyclones fail to convert the 2-point conversion.
Week 11 brought an entertaining slate of Big 12 games with three down-to-the-wire finishes. Baylor kept its playoff hopes alive with impressive late-game playmaking to fend off TCU in three overtimes. Oklahoma nearly saw a three-touchdown lead to Iowa State disappear completely before escaping in the final minute. And Texas, a team that was reeling just a couple of weeks ago, pulled out a last-second win over a good Kansas State team. With just a few weeks to go, what remains clear is who belongs at the top, and the rest continues to shuffle. The league’s playoff chances will be center stage in Week 12, when Baylor hosts Oklahoma in a de facto playoff elimination game. — Sam Khan Jr.
1. Baylor
2. Oklahoma
3. Texas
4. Kansas State
5. Oklahoma State
6. Iowa State
7. TCU
8. Texas Tech
9. West Virginia
10. Kansas
Pac-12
J. Yellen pass intercepted,C. Rector return for 0 yds
With Oregon and Utah both off this past week, there’s no real change of substance. The Ducks and Utah are in a class all to themselves, while the rest of the conference trades turns slapping each other in the face every week.
Both Oregon and Utah are within striking distance of the College Football Playoff, but it’s impossible at this stage to say with much certainty what winning out would do for either team. Can a one-loss Oregon team jump a potential one-loss Alabama team when, in that scenario, Oregon’s loss would be to a team Alabama beat (Auburn)? Can Utah get picked without a regular-season win against a team that finishes in the top-25?
What does look likely is that both Oregon and Utah have a good chance to reach New Year’s Six bowls. Should the teams finish the regular season with one loss, the loser of the Pac-12 title game would still be in a good spot to receive the at-large bid for the Cotton Bowl. — Kyle Bonagura
1. Utah
2. Oregon
3. Washington
4. USC
5. UCLA
6. Arizona State
7. Oregon State
8. Cal
9. Stanford
10. Washington State
11. Colorado
12. Arizona
ACC
Travis Etienne runs for two touchdowns and catches a third as Clemson remains unbeaten.
Clemson should find itself in the top four when the next College Football Playoff selection committee rankings come out, not just because two unbeaten teams ranked ahead of it lost, but because the Tigers did more than enough to pass the “eye test” in their beatdown of NC State. Clemson clinched its fifth straight Atlantic Division title in the process. But if the committee wants to keep pointing at schedule strength, Wake Forest did not help the cause after a disappointing loss to Virginia Tech. Wake Forest travels to play Clemson this Saturday, but the Demon Deacons might end up dropping out of the Top 25 in the next ranking. As usual, there is more intrigue in the Coastal Division, where the winner of the Virginia-Virginia Tech game that closes out the regular season could determine who faces Clemson in the ACC championship game. Virginia Tech still has Georgia Tech and Pitt, so nothing is certain. But it is also worth pointing out Virginia Tech has won 15 straight over its in-state rivals. — Andrea Adelson
1. Clemson
2. Virginia
3. Wake Forest
4. Pitt
5. Virginia Tech
6. Miami
7. North Carolina
8. Florida State
9. Louisville
10. Duke
11. Boston College
12. Georgia Tech
13. NC State
14. Syracuse
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