With the start of Week 13, the latest edition of the College Football Playoff rankings arrive to shake up the landscape. There were a couple of major outcomes this past weekend that altered the look of the newest projected postseason bracket, but just remember —most spots aren’t yet set in stone since anything can happen in this sport.
There are some interesting trends to note here in relation to DraftKings Sportsbook’s odds for each team to make the final College Football Playoff field. Here’s a breakdown comparing the updated rankings and brackets to our own numbers before Week 13 kicks off.
College Football Playoff rankings, odds
The updated College Football Playoff rankings have arrived — here’s a look at the latest projected bracket along with details on the DraftKings Sportsbook odds for each team below.
The top-three teams remain unchanged this week with Ohio State, Indiana and Texas A&M at the summit of the proverbial mountain (even if the Aggies nearly fell to South Carolina before a historic comeback in the second half). Odds aren’t available for these three undefeated teams, but the biggest change by far in the top spots comes as a result of the upset that did take place — Alabama, formerly No. 4 in the rankings with -2000 odds to make the CFP, dropped all the way to 10th in the rankings following an ugly loss to Oklahoma. The Crimson Tide tumbled all the way to -250 to make the final field on DraftKings Sportsbook following that result. In their place now sits Georgia at No. 4, up one spot into a potential spot from last week following a victory over Texas.
The next team up after the lucky teams to see a bye week is Texas Tech, a potential Big 12 champion which steamrolled USF on Saturday. The Red Raiders are now listed at -2500 to make the College Football Playoff following a hefty tick up from last week’s listing at -1200 in the No. 6 seed. Ole Miss, the heaviest favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook at -4000, also moved up one spot in the rankings alongside a move from their former odds at -2000. They’re a near-lock to make the tournament, though a potential move for Lane Kiffin lingers overhead for the program.
Oregon is another riser this week, up one spot to No. 7 in the rankings after a blowout win over Minnesota. However, their odds are now slightly longer than before at -300, a slight change from last week’s -400 mark. Why’s that? It could come due to a matchup with USC coming up this weekend as these two AP Poll-ranked sides battle in Eugene. At No. 8, we see a newcomer to the bracket as Oklahoma joins the fold following their upset over Bama. While the Sooners were the first team out last week at 11 in the rankings and +350 odds to make the College Football Playoff, they’re now favored to earn a spot on the bracket at -200 on DraftKings Sportsbook. It’s a huge development for this program in its second year of SEC play, but we’ll see whether they remain in the running over the home stretch. Meanwhile, Notre Dame’s position remains unchanged at No. 9 from last week. The independent program remains a virtual lock to make the CFP at -2500 odds, a sizable shift from the -380 odds from the Week 12 leaderboard.
Now this is where the fun begins. As mentioned earlier, Alabama nosedived all the way to No. 10 with -250 odds from its previous place in the top-four teams. That leaves them just ahead of the two remaining programs among the five highest-ranked conference champions, which earn the No. 11 and No. 12 seeds in the College Football Playoff. In the first of those two is Miami, sitting fifth in the ACC standings but ranked 13th by the committee. The Hurricanes hold +300 odds to make the postseason on DraftKings Sportsbook and got slightly shorter from last week’s +400, but still sit notably behind two other ACC programs in Georgia Tech (16th, +170) and Virginia (19th, +240). Both of those schools have played one more conference game than Miami though, while Pittsburgh (+1000) and SMU (+330) — the latter of which beat Miami just a couple of weeks ago — are also both ahead of the Canes in the ACC but unranked by the CFP. But, the Hurricanes beat Notre Dame themselves earlier this season, so is there a case for them to rank higher than the Irish? It seems someone ordered a side of controversy.
The final College Football Playoff spot appears even more chaotic. In the latest bracket, 24th-ranked Tulane earns the No. 12 seed with a great chance to win the American Conference and +190 odds to make the CFP after a jump from +650. However, the North Texas Mean Green have an identical conference record to the Green Wave and are also up to +100 odds to earn a postseason spot from +200 last week. These teams don’t play each other in the regular season, so if things continue, we may see a green vs. green battle in the AAC title game to determine who moves on to the big dance. The only other real threat to earn this spot though looks like Sun Belt contender James Madison, coming in at +400 odds. The Group of Five berth gets more intense by the week.
With the 12 playoff spots ironed out for another week, is it worth mentioning the first two teams out? In this case, of course! BYU has just one loss this season which came to Texas Tech and may very well make the Big 12 final for a rematch. The Cougars are ranked 11th but will likely need to win the conference to earn their way in, though they hold +270 odds to make it. Another Big 12 representative sits just behind at 12th in the CFP rankings as Utah remains in the mix, but they’ve lost two games this year and come in at +260. Just for giggles, one sleeper to watch is USC as well — the Trojans are ranked 15th and hold +400 odds ahead of a massive matchup against aforementioned Miami. Keep an eye on ’em.
Here’s a look at the top-25 rankings courtesy of the College Football Playoff Selection Committee.
