Top 25 College Football Rankings

Okay, we’ve got it. Work with us here for a moment.

You can still go by what’s happened on the field, and you have to – it’s only fair. Forget about what you believe, all that matters is what we can go by in head-to-head action, and it’s still possible to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

For example, Toledo is unbeaten. Toledo beat Arkansas, who beat Tennessee, who beat Georgia – trust us, it still works out according to the head-to-head across the board. However, it does get sticky with some of the Pac-12 teams, with UCLA beating BYU, BYU beating Washington, Washington beating USC, USC beating Arizona State, Arizona State beating UCLA – there aren’t as many of those as you might think, so in that case, it has to come down to the rest of the schedules.

This is all based on resume.

This is as close to the pin as possible, with an explanation why for each spot – this is what the College Football Playoff committee has to do.

1. Utah (5-0)

This is really, really, really painful because Utah just doesn’t look like the best team in college football, but the win over Michigan is gigantic now, the win over Cal makes it two victories over teams that haven’t lost to anyone else, and the blowout win over Oregon is still a blowout win over Oregon, even if the Ducks have gone bye-bye. Throw in the win over a Utah State team whose only other loss it to Washington, and Utah has the best resume of the bunch.

2. Florida (6-0)

Florida is unbeaten, it beat Ole Miss, who beat Alabama. Alabama is probably the strongest one-loss team in college football, and is probably the best team in the country, but that’s a guess. However, the Gators have done enough with road wins over Missouri and Kentucky, and, again, that Ole Miss win is still the big piece in the puzzle.

3. Ole Miss (5-1)

This is still the team that beat the team. The Alabama win is the gateway to just about everything else in the top five, but that’s it. UT Martin, Fresno State, Vanderbilt and New Mexico State is as soft as it gets, but playing at Memphis up next is legit and the Texas A&M showdown to follow will be another huge step in figuring this all out.

4. Alabama(5-1)

The Crimson Tide beat a solid Wisconsin team, destroyed Georgia, and slugged past Arkansas. It hasn’t always been pretty, but when the defense turns it on, forget about it. Now the passing game is starting to come around.

5. Michigan (5-1)

The wins over Oregon State, UNLV and Maryland are meaningless, but the blowout win over Northwestern and the 31-0 win over BYU are excellent at this point. Considering the only loss is to Utah on the road, Michigan, technically, could be No. 2, but let’s not go crazy quite yet. If it beats Michigan State, it will be.

6. Clemson (5-0)

Georgia Tech has hit the skids, but the blowout win a week after beating Notre Dame deserves enough respect to move up. Clemson has the combination now of a decent resume along with looking the part.

7. TCU (6-0)

The Texas Tech win – technically – is strong, beating Minnesota is okay, and getting by Kansas State on the road is always excellent. However, now, the blowout win over Texas means everything considering what happened in the Red River Rivalry/Shootout/Showdown.

8. Baylor (5-0)

The blowout over Texas Tech is the strongest win. Blowing away Kansas means nothing – yes, Baylor will play a real team soon with West Virginia up next.

9. LSU (5-0)

This is probably the biggest guess on the block considering beating Auburn and South Carolina is nothing but a brand name filler, and the win over Mississippi State came on a missed kick. Beating Syracuse and Eastern Michigan – and struggling a bit – doesn’t help. The bigger games are coming soon.

10. Notre Dame (5-1)

Beating an unbeaten Navy helps, and now, the blowout win over Texas is terrific. Would beating USC now mean much? Yeah, it’s still beating USC, and the Fighting Irish could use another decent win.

11. Iowa (6-0)

Illinois beating a now 2-4 Nebraska isn’t that big a deal, so needing to fight for a win might not look great, but the win at Wisconsin is better than just about everything else the lower-ranked teams have done.

12. Texas A&M (5-0)

The win over Arizona State is better than anything Ohio State has done, and the victory over Arkansas now looks better considering the fight the Hogs gave against Alabama. But now it’s time to make a statement, and that means beating the Crimson Tide to kickstart the playoff talk.

13. Florida State (5-0)

Florida State has beaten absolutely no one worth mentioning over than getting by Miami. Even with the Canes losing to Cincinnati, the win on Saturday is still stronger than anything Ohio State has done.

14. Ohio State (6-0)

Seriously, Ohio State? You’re going to sleepwalk for most of the game against a miserable Maryland? Beating Virginia Tech now seems a little bit better, but there’s nothing on the resume. The Buckeyes are still the pick to get back to the national title game, but at some point, the excuses have to stop and the play has to be better.

15. Oklahoma State (6-0)

This is a really, really shaky ranking, but the Cowboys did get by a Texas team that beat Oklahoma, and it survived Texas and Kansas State in tight battles. The wins might be way too close lately, but the Cowboys are 7-0 – let’s just skip the formality and count the home win over Kansas in two weeks.

16. California (5-1)

Beating Washington State looks better now after the win over Oregon, and the win over Texas in the Lone Star State now looks fantastic. There shouldn’t be a reward for a loss – especially with the way Jared Goff played – but if Utah deserves to be considered for the top spot, to come that close to pulling off the win on the road should bring the Bears some credit.

17. Northwestern (5-1)

Duke’s best win is over Georgia Tech, but it’s still 5-1 with the only loss coming to Northwestern at home, and the Stanford wins still makes up for the blowout loss to Michigan. That might have been a brutally ugly day in Ann Arbor, but the Wildcats still have to be ranked ahead of the Cardinal.

18. Stanford (4-1)

Considering Arizona just destroyed Oregon State, that win doesn’t look so mediocre now. However, the USC win has lost its luster and the Northwestern defeat isn’t as okay.

19. Michigan State (6-0)

Michigan State, this is an absolute, you’re-6-0-and-sort-of-have-to-ahead-of-Texas gift, considering it was a struggle to get past the two worst Big Ten teams Purdue and Rutgers. Coming so close to losing to Oregon now looks miserable, but the win over Air Force was okay. All will be quickly forgiven with a win over Michigan.

20. Texas (2-4)

Okay, here’s where you have to go by the body of work, with the win over OU screwing everything up for a slew of SEC teams including Georgia and Tennessee. Texas is 2-4, but those four losses are to Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Cal, and TCU, who have just two losses between them with one coming to Utah this week (Cal) and one to Clemson last week (Notre Dame). With the close losses to the Cowboys and Bears, combined with the win over Oklahoma, who beat Tennessee and West Virginia, theoretically, the Longhorns could be right behind Oklahoma State. For now, this is fine.

21. Oklahoma (4-1)

The Tennessee win on the road is stronger now, and beating West Virginia is better than it might appear – the Mountaineers’ only other loss is to Oklahoma State – but the Sooners have to be ranked behind Texas.

22. Wisconsin (4-2)

Finally, Wisconsin has a decent win under its belt with the comeback victory over Nebraska, but it’s still just a 2-4 Nebraska. The close losses to Alabama and Iowa keep the ranking from dipping further, but it’s time to start destroying teams on the rest of a relatively light slate.

23. Boise State (5-1)

This is where it gets really weird considering BYU, Boise State, Washington, UCLA, Arizona State and USC are all mixed together. Here’s the call. Boise State gets the higher ranking out of the mix because it obliterated Virginia on the road, and UCLA won over the Cavaliers at home. Yes, Boise State lost to BYU, but that was on the road, too, and it came on a minor miracle play. So, to break the overall jam, Boise State beat Washington, who beat USC on the road, who beat Arizona State on the road. And it helps that the Broncos are playing phenomenally well right now.

24. Washington (3-2)

The losses are to Boise State on the road and Cal. Beating Utah State by 14 is solid, and getting past USC on the road is great. The loss at Boise State could’ve gone either way at the end.

25. USC (3-2)

It’s Christmas in Southern California with this ranking, and it’s only coming because the Trojans absolutely destroyed Arizona State on the road, and ASU beat UCLA, and UCLA beat BYU. This is a better team than it showed against Stanford and Washington.

No. 26-128 College Football Rankings

26. Texas Tech (4-2)

27. Toledo (5-0)

28. Arkansas (2-4)

29. Tennessee (3-3)

30. Georgia (4-2)

31. Mississippi State (4-2)

32. BYU (4-2)

33. West Virginia (3-2)

34. Arizona State (4-2)

35. UCLA (4-1)

36. Arizona (4-2)

37. Memphis (5-0)

38. Temple (5-0)

39. Penn State (5-1)

40. Houston (5-0)

41. Indiana (4-2)

42. Kansas State (3-2)

43. Kentucky (4-1)

44. Missouri (4-2)

45. Cincinnati (3-2)

46. Auburn (3-2)

47. Miami (3-2)

48. South Carolina (2-4)

49. North Carolina (4-1)

50. Illinois (4-2)

51. Louisville (2-3)

52. Navy (4-1)

53. Minnesota (4-2)

54. Pitt (4-1)

55. Virginia Tech (3-3)

56. East Carolina (3-3)

57. NC State (4-2)

58. Duke (5-1)

59. Georgia Tech (2-4)

60. Nebraska (2-4)

61. Washington State (3-2)

62. Oregon (3-3)

63. Maryland (2-4)

64. Bowling Green (4-2)

65. South Florida (2-3)

66. Syracuse (3-2)

67. Wake Forest (3-3)

68. Boston College (3-3)

69. Georgia Southern (4-1)

70. Western Michigan (2-3)

71. Central Michigan (2-4)

72. Northern Illinois (3-3)

73. Ohio (5-1)

74. Virginia (1-4)

75. Air Force (3-2)

76. WKU (5-1)

77. Iowa State (2-3)

78. Utah State (3-2)

79. Louisiana Tech (4-2)

80. Oregon State (2-3)

81. Marshall (5-1)

82. Purdue (1-5)

83. Tulsa (3-2)

84. Southern Miss (3-3)

85. South Alabama (3-2)

86. San Diego State (3-3)

87. Hawaii (2-4)

88. Colorado (3-3)

89. Vanderbilt (2-3)

90. Colorado State (2-4)

91. Middle Tennessee (2-4)

92. San Jose State (3-3)

93. UNLV (2-4)

94. Nevada (3-3)

95. Rutgers (2-3)

96. Akron (3-3)

97. Kent State (2-4)

98. Rice (3-3)

99. Appalachian State (4-1)

100. Arkansas State (2-3)

101. Louisiana-Lafayette (2-3)

102. Massachusetts (1-3)

103. FIU (2-3)

104. Buffalo (2-3)

105. Old Dominion (2-3)

106. Ball State (2-4)

107. Fresno State (1-5)

108. Connecticut (3-3)

109. New Mexico (3-3)

110. UTSA (1-5)

111. UTEP (2-4)

112. Texas State (1-4)

113. Tulane (2-3)

114. Kansas (1-4)

115. ULM (1-4)

116. Army West Point (1-5)

117. Troy (1-4)

118. UCF (0-6)

119. Florida Atlantic (1-4)

120. SMU (1-5)

121. Eastern Michigan (1-4)

122. Charlotte (2-3)

123. Miami University (1-5)

124. Wyoming (0-6)

125. Georgia State (1-4)

126. Idaho (1-4)

127. North Texas (0-5)

128. New Mexico State (0-5)