College football rankings: Predicting the AP top 25 poll for Championship Saturday
As the dust settles around the latest slate of games on Saturday, let's look ahead to the next AP top 25 college football rankings
The regular season is over and now the 2022 football season moves to Championship Saturday to sort out the conference titles before moving onto College Football Playoff Selection Sunday
Note: this isn't our ranking of the best teams, but our prediction for how top 25 voters will slot them in the official rankings
College football rankings: Predicting the AP top 25 poll for Championship Saturday
Predicting the AP top 25 college football rankings
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25. North Carolina. A second-straight loss to close out the regular season, this time at home to rival NC State, but with nine wins and a date in the ACC title game, it could be just enough to stay in the top 25 rankings.
24. Mississippi State. With a statement win in the Egg Bowl on the road, the Bulldogs moved into third place in the SEC West, with a 15-10 overall record and an 8-8 mark in the SEC the last two years under Mike Leach.
23. UCF. The Knights needed every minute of the game, plus one crazy catch in the end zone, to get past a 1-win USF and clinch a spot in the AAC Championship Game against Tulane.
22. Purdue. Despite a slow first half start, the Boilermakers came back at Indiana to win and clinch the Big Ten West. Now comes the hard part: beating Michigan with a chance to knock it out of the College Football Playoff on Championship Saturday.
21. Texas. The Longhorns earned an impressive win at home over Baylor, but won't get another shot at TCU in the Big 12 title game after Kansas State beat KU.
20. Tulane. Running for over 200 yards to snap Cincinnati's 32-game home win streak helps move the Green Wave into AAC title contention. Tulane will host that game against challenger UCF next Saturday.
19. South Carolina. Suddenly, the Gamecocks have two straight wins over AP top 10 teams after knocking off Clemson on the road a week after thrashing Tennessee, throwing both out of the College Football Playoff chase, more than enough to move Carolina into the top 25 rankings.
18. Oregon. Collapse is one thing, but what the Ducks did at Oregon State is something else. After taking a 31-10 lead, Oregon allowed 21 fourth-quarter points and couldn't convert a late 4th and Goal, among other miscues. That's two late season setbacks for the Ducks, first against Washington and again in the finale.
17. UCLA. Despite trailing early on the road to Cal a week after losing to rival USC, the Bruins rebounded, running for 352 total yards on the ground to seal the win and now wait for a bowl invite.
16. Oregon State. Often overlooked this season, the now 9-3 Beavers pulled off a major comeback win over Oregon after trailing by three touchdowns, running for 268 total yards and five scores to throw their rivals a curve ball and now await a bowl invitation.
15. Notre Dame. Give the Fighting Irish credit, they stayed in the fight at USC until the very end as quarterback Drew Pyne hit 23 of 26 passes for over 300 yards and three touchdowns, and now awaits a decision for Bowl Season.
14. Florida State. A statement win over rival Florida at home behind a 7th straight 200-yard rushing performance pushes the Seminoles to a 9th win on the season and moving up the rankings with a second win over an SEC team this year (they beat LSU in the opener).
13. Kansas State. Will Howard hit over 200 yards passing with two touchdowns and Deuce Vaughn eclipsed 140 yards rushing in a 14th straight win over rival Kansas, clinching the other spot in the Big 12 title game against undefeated College Football Playoff hopeful TCU.
12. Utah. All of 16 combined points keep the Utes from an undefeated record and now comes a return to the Pac-12 title game with a shot against USC, who they beat earlier this year in a shootout.
11. Clemson. Some big plays from the Gamecocks, costly turnovers, and a miserable 8 of 29 passing effort from under-performing quarterback prospect DJ Uiagalelei, and the Tigers snapped a 40-game home win streak and are officially out of College Football Playoff contention.
10. Washington. The Huskies put up over 700 total yards against rival Washington State to take the Apple Cup.
9. LSU. A stunning loss on the road to Texas A&M dips the Tigers to three losses and out of the College Football Playoff chase, but there's still a shot against No. 1 Georgia in the SEC title bout with a chance to make the playoff selection even more weird.
8. Penn State. As expected, the Nittany Lions get to 10 wins to close out the season by taking the Land Grant Trophy over Michigan State as Sean Clifford threw four touchdown passes. Now Penn State anticipates its bowl assignment.
7. Tennessee. Big Orange put up 362 rushing yards and six touchdowns on the ground in a 56-0 thrashing over in-state rival Vanderbilt to end on a high note, but its playoff hopes probably went up in smoke last week in South Carolina.
6. Alabama. A big enough win over Auburn in the Iron Bowl, combined with some chaos further up in the rankings, means the Crimson Tide is still technically within striking distance of the top four. UT's bad loss to the Gamecocks is enough to keep Bama ahead in the rankings despite the loss on Rocky Top.
5. Ohio State. This was supposed to be the more explosive offense, right? Not at home against Michigan with a Big Ten title shot on the line, and not after an avalanche of miscues and some bad, blown coverages on the defensive side of the ball. There's still a trip to the Rose Bowl in the Buckeyes' future, but Ryan Day is now 0-2 in his last pair in The Game and facing serious criticism.
4. USC. Caleb Williams may have had his Heisman moment as he ran for three touchdowns and passed for a fourth, keeping the resurgent Trojans squarely in the College Football Playoff picture with a date in the Pac-12 title game upcoming.
3. TCU. "Slow starts" be damned, the Horned Frogs went off on the Cyclones, piling up 24 points in the first quarter en route to a dominant 62-14 victory to stay undefeated and take a firmer grasp on a top four spot ahead of the Big 12 Championship Game.
2. Michigan. Everybody thought not having Blake Corum would doom the Wolverines, but they forgot about J.J. McCarthy, the Michigan gunslinger who powered a big-play offense to a major statement win at Ohio State. The unit piled on touchdowns of 75, 85, 69, and 75 yards with almost no resistance and in two short years, this rivalry has moved decisively in Michigan's favor.
1. Georgia. After a very sluggish start in Clean, Old Fashioned Hate, the Bulldogs recovered, scoring 37 unanswered points to beat Georgia Tech, but this offense does pick odd times to lose interest. Up next: the SEC Championship Game.
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