College Football Ratings Pre-Bowls 2023
This was the most impactful conference championship weekend in 25 years. Not since UCLA and Kansas State both fell on the last day of the regular season in 1998 have we seen the national championship picture change so dramatically in the first weekend of December.
Interestingly, we’re now headed into a playoff without any of the top 3 teams in my model (and only 1 of the top 6). I’m still quite a bit of an outlier for having Oregon #1, but this year’s Ohio State and Georgia teams are two of the better squads to miss the playoff in a while.
Top 25
Oregon
Ohio State
Georgia
Michigan
Notre Dame
LSU (+1)
Alabama (-1)
Penn State
Oklahoma
Missouri
Texas (+2)
Louisville
Washington (+5)
Texas A&M
Arizona (-3)
Clemson
Florida State
Kansas (-3)
Oregon State
Tennessee
SMU
Florida
Iowa State
Miami (+1)
Maryland (-1)
Michigan put the exclamation mark on a great regular season with a win over Iowa. The Wolverines are consensus 2 point favorites against Alabama in the Rose Bowl which is right in line with my fair line. I’ve been lower on Washington than most in the last few weeks, with the Huskies falling from 5th in my ratings in October all the way to 18th last week. Michael Penix Jr. and crew proved me wrong and are now two wins away from their first national title in my lifetime. SMU finishes the regular season as the only G5 team in my top 25 and is likely going to be a preseason sleeper of mine in the ACC next year.