Projecting the top 6 in the CFP poll ahead of Week 13

Week 12 of the college football season brought about some scares for three of the top four squads and one major upset, creating another twist in the tale ahead of the committee’s next College Football Playoff rankings. With Week 12 in the books, we’ll project the top six ahead of the committee’s next rankings.

As a reminder, here were the committee’s rankings from last week.

1. Georgia
2. Ohio State
3. Michigan
4. TCU

5. Tennessee
6. LSU

We saw three SEC teams and two Big Ten squads in the last rankings, which certainly doesn’t ease the nerves of those outside those two conferences in light of the realignment drama. These two conferences are set to gain even more power in the coming years as Oklahoma, Texas, USC and UCLA all make moves.

College Football Playoff Projected Rankings for November 22

1. Georgia
2. Ohio State
3. Michigan
4. TCU

5. LSU
6. USC

TCU and Michigan needed late field goals to avoid major upsets while Ohio State had its hands full with Maryland on the road. Georgia underwhelmed but wasn’t in much danger against Kentucky. LSU had an easy day with UAB.

Tennessee saw Hendon Hooker go down in the fourth quarter of a big loss against South Carolina. Two losses is bad news for the Volunteers, especially since they won’t have the chance to boost their resume with a SEC title. There will be a high-profile bowl for Tennessee but no playoff.

USC got into a shootout with UCLA and it looked like the Trojans were going to ride Caleb Williams to a win. The quarterback made a few crucial mistakes during what could’ve been the final drive of the contest and gave UCLA a chance to take the lead. The Bruins had something going but Dorian Thompson-Robinson threw his third interception of the game to essentially give the Trojans the win.