COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND - NOVEMBER 19: The Ohio State Buckeyes celebrate after a 43-30 victory against the Maryland Terrapins at SECU Stadium on November 19, 2022 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

Statement Saturday became Survival Saturday highlight Week 12 plus The Real Top 25 College Football Playoff Rankings.

Top-4 teams In The College Football Playoff Rankings Win.  Barely

Well, well, well.  Last week I and others didn’t believe that Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan or TCU, the top 4 CFP teams, would struggle this past Saturday.  They all played in the dreaded “trap” game and all survived by the skin of their teeth.  Meanwhile, the Tennessee Vols not only lost badly to South Carolina, 63-38, they lost their star quarterback Hendon Hooker.  He left in the fourth quarter with a leg injury, falling and fumbling without being hit and is done for the year.

USC Trojans On The Verge Of Causing Some Serious Chaos!

Caleb Williams bolstered Southern California’s push for a possible spot in the College Football Playoff with the biggest game of his career against the Trojans’ archrival UCLA.  Williams had 503 yards of total offense and accounted for three touchdowns, and the seventh-ranked Trojans beat No. 16 UCLA 48-45 on Saturday night to reach the Pac-12 championship game.

The Trojans (10-1, 8-1) got their first win of the season over a ranked team. They will wait to see who their opponent will be on Dec. 2 in Las Vegas for the conference crown.  The Trojans will host #13 Notre Dame on Saturday.

Statement Saturday: Why My Top 4 Picks Haven’t Changed

Well, why would they?  Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan and TCU didn’t blow out their respective opponents.  There is no reason at all that Michigan should jump Ohio State or Ohio State jumping to number one over Georgia or TCU jumping over Michigan and Ohio State.  All the top 4 teams were expected to win quite easily on Saturday.  It didn’t happen.  And even though the CFP committee never says on the record that “blowouts” matter, the fact is they do.  Ohio State, Michigan and TCU had a chance to move up in my poll this week had they won in impressive fashion but they didn’t and they shouldn’t.

My Real Top 25 College Football Rankings:

 

  • 25. South Carolina

  • 24. UTSA

  • 23. Oregon State

  • 22. Coastal Carolina

  • 21. North Carolina

  • 20. Cincinnati

  • 19. Mississippi

  • 18. Tulane

  • 17. UCLA

  • 16. Florida State

  • 15. Utah

  • 14. Kansas State

  • 13. Notre Dame

  • 12. Washington

  • 11. Tennessee

  • 10. Penn State

  • 9. Oregon

  • 8. Alabama

  • 7. Clemson

  • 6. LSU

  • 5. USC

  • 4. TCU

    TCU

    WACO, TEXAS – NOVEMBER 19: Quarterback Max Duggan #15 of the TCU Horned Frogs walks off the field after the Horned Frogs beat the Baylor Bears 29-28 at McLane Stadium on November 19, 2022 in Waco, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

  • 3. Michigan

     

  • 2. Ohio State

  • 1. Georgia

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