My AP top 25 college football ballot: Ohio State controls playoff destiny after rout
I have questioned the College Football Playoff selection committee for showing so much respect to Ohio State this season.
Turns out, they were right.
The Buckeyes earned their first signature victory of the season on Saturday, and they did it in the most impressive way possible. They made Michigan State look like a Division II team during a 56-7 victory and then kicked back and relaxed as the only team that beat them this season (Oregon) suffered a convincing loss to Utah.
Nothing is standing in their way of reaching the playoff anymore. Well, nothing other than Michigan, anyway.
Even though I don’t love the rest of Ohio State’s resume (they haven’t beaten another ranked team), their schedule is back-loaded and they now look like the nation’s best one-loss team. I have been ranking the Buckeyes lower than most. Last week, I had them at No. 6. Not anymore. I was so impressed by Ohio State this weekend that I moved it all the way up to No. 3, ahead of Alabama and Notre Dame.
But I kept Georgia at No. 1 and Cincinnati at No. 2, because they are both undefeated. The Bulldogs remain the nation’s best team and the Bearcats had an impressive victory of their own over SMU.
If the playoff started tomorrow, I would nominate No. 3 Ohio State and No. 4 Alabama to join them.
On the way down
A number of teams took a major tumble in my rankings this week.
Oregon dropped 10 spots to No. 14. Michigan State fell seven spots to No. 15. Wake Forest dropped seven spots to No. 20. Arkansas also slipped five spots to No. 25.
It was hard to know exactly how far to drop those teams, because most of them looked terrible on Saturday.
Arkansas was exception. It was hard to punish the Razorbacks for losing close to Alabama on the road. But a loss is still a loss, and they have four of them this season.
Welcome to the party
Two new teams crashed my top 25 rankings this week.
Well, they aren’t exactly new. I have ranked Utah and Clemson before. Heck, I had the Tigers up near No. 1 before the season began.
But they are both back in the top 25 after pulling off big wins on Saturday. Utah looked terrific against Oregon and Clemson was impressive against Wake Forest.
I ranked Utah at No. 23 and Clemson at No. 24.
My top 25 ballot
Last week’s ranking in parentheses
1. Georgia (1)
2. Cincinnati (2)
3. Ohio State (6)
4. Alabama (3)
5. Notre Dame (5)
6. Oklahoma State (7)
7. Michigan (9)
8. Baylor (10)
9. Ole Miss (11)
10. Oklahoma (15)
11. BYU (12)
12. UTSA (14)
13. Houston (16)
14. Oregon (4)
15. Michigan State (8)
16. Texas A&M (17)
17. Louisiana (18)
18. Iowa (19)
19. Pittsburgh (21)
20. Wake Forest (13)
21. Wisconsin (22)
22. San Diego State (23)
23. Utah (NR)
24. Clemson (NR)
25. Arkansas (20)
Dropped Out: Appalachian State, Kansas State.
This story was originally published November 21, 2021 at 7:20 AM.