There were some really exciting games in Week 14 to close out the regular season. This will be my final CFB power rankings of the season ahead of Conference Championship Weekend.
#1- Oregon (1)
Oregon survived the regular season as the only undefeated team out of 134 FBS programs. They took down two other top-ten teams, Ohio State and Boise State, and have a shot at one more with Penn State in the Big Ten Championship Game. The Ducks will be the #1 overall seed in the CFP with a win over Penn State, and will almost certainly still be the #5 seed even with a loss in that game.
#2- Georgia (3)
Georgia’s season was on the ropes a few weeks ago after losing to Ole Miss, but now the Dawgs have a chance to grab the #2 seed in the College Football Playoff with a win over Texas. Georgia will almost certainly stay in the playoff field even with a loss to Texas, but that first-round bye could do them a lot of good.
#3- Texas (4)
Texas has a chance to avenge their lone loss of the regular season against Georgia in the SEC Championship Game. The Longhorns will be a playoff team regardless of their result but getting revenge on Georgia would give them a ton of confidence heading into the postseason.
#4- Penn State (5)
Penn State back-doored their way into the Big Ten Championship Game after Ohio State’s loss to Michigan. After a good season, they now have a chance to steal a first-round bye from Oregon.
#5- Notre Dame (6)
Notre Dame survived their final test of the season against USC. They are now going to host a College Football Playoff game in a couple of weeks and have a lot of momentum heading into the postseason.
#6- Tennessee (8)
Tennessee’s season looked to be in danger a couple of weeks ago, but chaos around the country has pushed them into a position to possibly host a College Football Playoff game. They are guaranteed a spot in the bracket no matter what.
#7- Ohio State (2)
Ohio State fell to Michigan, again, last week. They will more than likely stay in the College Football Playoff field, but the mental status of the team could be majorly in question after a fourth consecutive loss to their arch rivals.
#8- Indiana (9)
Indiana is another team that looked like a bubble team after their loss to Ohio State, but chaos in the SEC cemented their spot in the College Football Playoff. It was a storybook season for Curt Cignetti, but now they need to prove that they can compete against an elite team in the postseason.
#9- Boise State (10)
Boise State is one win away from making the College Football Playoff. They have been the highest-ranked Group of Five team all season, with their only loss coming against #1 Oregon. If they can take down UNLV in the Mountain West Championship Game, they will get a shot in the playoff, potentially with a first-round bye.
#10- SMU (11)
SMU has been one of the hottest teams in the country over the past couple of months. They are now one win against Clemson away from getting a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff. However, SMU could be in danger of dropping out of the top-12 with a loss against Clemson, so they might have the most on the line of any team in Conference Championship weekend.
#11- South Carolina (12)
South Carolina is right alongside SMU as one of the hottest teams in the country. They just took down Clemson on the road to finish off a six-game winning streak to end their season. They are one of the four teams competing for the final at-large bid in the College Football Playoff.
#12- Arizona State (14)
Arizona State has been ripping through Big 12 play and can now be sure that they will get a spot in the College Football Playoff with a win in the conference title game against Iowa State. The only question is whether it will be enough to get a first-round bye over Boise State if they win.
#13- Alabama (15)
Alabama is South Carolina’s main competition for that last playoff spot. Alabama has the head-to-head win over the Gamecocks, but Alabama has sputtered to the finish line.
#14- Miami (7)
Miami was one win away from being “back” but couldn’t survive a trip to Syracuse to end the regular season. They are still one of the teams competing for the final at-large bid. It seems unlikely they will make it over Alabama or South Carolina.
#15- Ole Miss (16)
Ole Miss seems like the fourth option of the four teams still vying for an at-large bid. They have suffered some terrible losses this season and have really faded down the stretch.
#16- Iowa State (18)
Iowa State is facing off against Arizona State for the Big 12 Championship Game and a spot in the College Football Playoff. Matt Campbell has done a great job of rallying this team, and they hung on against Kansas State to earn this opportunity.
#17- UNLV (20)
UNLV has a shot to make the College Football Playoff with a win over Boise State. Boise State got the better of them in the regular season but with a win in the title game, they will be up against the AAC Champion for the final spot but would likely get it.
#18- Clemson (13)
Clemson fans experienced the full range of emotions on Saturday. Their arch rivals, South Carolina, beat them in their own building on a touchdown in the final two minutes of the game. That loss spoiled their chance at an at-large bid in the Playoff. However, a few hours later, Miami fell to Syracuse, which gave Clemson a shot at the ACC Championship. With a win over SMU, Clemson would get the ACC’s automatic bid to the CFP.
#19- Illinois (21)
Illinois has been the best team in the Big 10 this season outside of the clear top four who will all be in the Playoff. The Illini will get a favorable bowl game as a reward for their great season.
#20- Colorado (22)
Colorado broke through and had a successful season with the likely Heisman Trophy winner on their roster. They came up short of contending for the conference title and the CFP, but this was a great season by Colorado’s standards.
#21- Army (23)
Army is the last team on this list with a distant shot at the CFP. With a win in the AAC Championship Game and a Boise State loss, they have a small chance of jumping UNLV for that last playoff spot, although it is unlikely. Army still has the biggest game of their season left against Navy, as well.
#22- Syracuse (25)
Syracuse pulled off the incredible upset over Miami that shook the national landscape last week. They also finished the regular season with the nation’s leader in passing yards on their roster, Kyle McCord. It was a great first season for Fran Brown and things are looking up for Syracuse football.
#23- BYU (24)
It was a really good season for BYU, but they slipped down the stretch and won’t get the chance to compete for a conference title.
#24- Memphis (NR)
Memphis pulled off a major upset of Tulane on Thanksgiving to deny them a shot at the CFP. That was enough to get Memphis ranked in the final power rankings of the season.
#25- Missouri (NR)
Missouri has been in and out of the rankings all season, but they are a much better team now than earlier this season with a healthy quarterback and running back. As the only other 3-loss SEC team, they deserve to finish the season inside the top 25 of the power rankings.
Teams that dropped out after Week 14: Tulane (17), Texas A&M (19)
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