Image Courtesy: CBS Sports
CFP Top 12
1.Ohio State 12-0 (9-0) Big Ten This week: 2.Indiana (12-0) (Indianapolis) (Saturday, 8 PM ET, FOX)
2.Indiana 12-0 (9-0) Big Ten This week: 1.Ohio State (12-0) (Indianapolis) (Saturday, 8 PM ET, FOX)
3.Georgia 11-1 (7-1) SEC This week: 9.Alabama (10-2) (Atlanta) (Saturday, 4 PM ET, ABC)
4.Texas Tech 11-1 (8-1) Big 12 This week: BYU (11-1) (Arlington) (Saturday, 12 PM ET, ABC)
5.Oregon 11-1 (8-1) Big Ten This week: Off
6.Ole Miss 11-1 (7-1) SEC This week: Off
7.Texas A&M 11-1 (7-1) SEC This week: Off
8.Oklahoma 10-2 (6-2) SEC This week: Off
9.Alabama 10-2 (7-1) SEC This week: 3.Georgia (11-1) (Atlanta) (Saturday, 4 PM ET, ABC)
10.Notre Dame 10-2 Independents This week: Off
11.BYU 11-1 (8-1) Big 12 This week: Texas Tech (11-1) (Arlington) (Saturday, 12 PM ET, ABC)
12.Miami 10-2 (6-2) ACC This week: Off
Projected College Football Playoff Bracket (How the College Football Playoff bracket is seeded)
First Round
Eugene
5.Oregon
12.Tulane
Norman
8.Oklahoma
9.Alabama
Oxford
6.Ole Miss
11.Miami
College Station
7.Texas A&M
10.Notre Dame
Quarterfinals
Sugar Bowl (New Orleans)
4.Texas Tech
5.Oregon/12.Tulane
Rose Bowl (Pasadena)
1.Ohio State
8.Oklahoma/9.Alabama
Orange Bowl (Miami Gardens)
3.Georgia
6.Ole Miss/11.Miami
Cotton Bowl (Arlington)
2.Indiana
7.Texas A&M/10.Notre Dame
Biggest risers and fallers in the CFP Top 25 this week:
Risers
13.Texas 9-3 (6-2) SEC Week 14: #16 (Defeated 3.Texas A&M 27-17)
18.Arizona 9-3 (6-3) Big 12 Week 14: #25 (Defeated 20.Arizona State 23-7)
20.Tulane 10-2 (7-1) American Week 14: #24 (Defeated Charlotte 27-0)
Fallers
7.Texas A&M 11-1 (7-1) SEC Week 14: #3 (Lost to 16.Texas 27-17)
19.Michigan 9-3 (7-2) Big Ten Week 14: #15 (Lost to 1.Ohio State 27-9)
Dropped Out
Tennessee 8-4 (4-4) SEC Week 14: #19 (Lost to 14.Vanderbilt 45-24)
Arizona State 8-4 (6-3) Big 12 Week 14: #20 (Lost to 25.Arizona 23-7)
SMU 8-4 (6-2) ACC Week 14: #21 (Lost to California 38-35)
Georgia Tech 9-3 (6-2) ACC Week 14: #23 (Lost to 4.Georgia 16-9)
New
21.Houston 9-3 (6-3) Big 12 Week 14: NR (Defeated Baylor 31-24)
23.Iowa 8-4 (6-3) Big Ten Week 14: NR (Defeated Nebraska 40-16)
24.North Texas 11-1 (7-1) American Week 14: NR (Defeated Temple 52-25)
25.James Madison 11-1 (8-0) Sun Belt Week 14: NR (Defeated Coastal Carolina 34-21)
Key games this weekend (Rankings based off of CFP Poll)
Friday, December 5
Sun Belt Championship Game
Troy (8-4) @ 25.James Madison (11-1)
7 PM ET, ESPN
Troy heads on the road to face in this Friday’s Sun Belt Championship game. The Trojans began November with two losses to Arkansas State and Old Dominion before finishing the regular season strong with victories against Georgia State and Southern Miss.The Dukes have dominated the league all season with their only loss being out of conference to a strong Louisville team. They will hope Duke upsets Virginia in the ACC Championship game so there could be two Group of Five champions in the College Football Playoff next to the winner of Tulane and North Texas in the American Championship game.
For Troy to upset James Madison, they will have to put together a terrific offensive performance headed by their two quarterback system that includes Tucker Kilcrease (1,414 yards, 9 TDs, and 4 INTs) and Goose Crowder (1,118 yards, 11 TDs, and 5 INTs). They must hand the ball to running backs Tae Meadows and Jordan Lovett, who have combined for almost 1,000 rushing yards and seven touchdowns and pass the ball to former Georgia receiver RaRa Thomas, who has caught 31 passes for 495 yards and five scores. Dukes’ linebacker Trent Hendrick and safety Tyler Brown will be vital in shutting the Trojans’ offense down.
The Trojan defense is led by linebacker Jordan Stringer, who has totaled 104 tackles, three passes defended, and two sacks and safety Devin Lafayette, who has 99 tackles, four passes defended, two interceptions, and a sack. James Madison quarterback Alonza Barnett III (2,440 passing yards, 459 rushing yards, 33 overall TDs, and 7 INTs) and tailback Wayne Knight (1,051 yards and 13 TDs) are one of the top duos in the Group of Five. If Barnett gets it to receivers Landon Ellis (532 yards and 5 TDs), Nick DeGennaro (386 yards and 4 TDs), and Jaylan Sanchez (349 yards and 1 TD), the Dukes may roll to victory.
Despite reports that James Madison head coach Bobby Chesney is headed to Los Angeles for the same job at UCLA, the Dukes will be focused and they will defeat Troy. A victory for James Madison would put them in position to make the College Football Playoff if a few things go there way.
Projected Score: James Madison 31, Troy 13
American Championship Game
24.North Texas (11-1) @ 20.Tulane (10-2)
8 PM ET, ABC
North Texas heads to New Orleans to face Tulane in a likely winner take all game to the College Football Playoff. Since getting blown out by South Florida on Oct. 10, the Mean Green have won six consecutive games entering Friday night’s match up. The Green Wave have won four in a row before they host North Texas this weekend.
Mean Green quarterback Drew Westemaker has starred this season, throwing for 3,835 yards, 29 touchdowns, and just four interceptions. It helps Westemaker that he has one of the better receivers in the country in Wyatt Young, who has recorded 1,203 yards and 10 touchdowns as well as Cameron Dorner who has 769 yards and six scores. Tulane’s Jack Tchienchou’s and Bailey Despanie’s combined seven passes defended and two interceptions are important against the Westemaker led unit.
In addition, running back Caleb Hawkins has rushed for an impressive 1,216 yards and 23 touchdowns. Linebacker Chris Rodgers (68 tackles, 2 sacks, and 1 pass defended) will lead the Green Wave front against one of the nation’s most impressive tailbacks.
North Texas safeties Patrick Smith-Young (63 tackles and 2 passes defended) and Will Jones II (60 passes, 2 interceptions, and 2 passes defended) will lead their secondary against Tulane’s passing game. If they can limit Jake Retzlaff, who has had an up and down season behind center with 2,717 yards, 14 touchdowns, and six interceptions on the season. Retzlaff does have five capable receivers including Shazz Preston, Anthony Brown-Stephens, Omari Hayes, Bryce Bohanon, and Zycarl Lewis Jr. who have combined for eleven scores this season.
Linebackers Ethan Wesloski’s 97 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and one interception and Trey Fields’ 92 tackles, two passes defended, one sack, and one interception will be vital against the Green Wave’s running game led by Retzlaff (561 yards and 14 TDs) and Javin Gordon (479 yards and 5 TDs).
With both North Texas’ Eric Morris (Oklahoma State) and Tulane’s Jon Sumrall (Florida) headed for new jobs in 2026, it will be interesting to see which team comes in more focused to lock up a College Football Playoff bid on Friday night. The game should be back and forth between the Mean Green and Green Wave but there has to be only one winner. North Texas will outscore Tulane and Morris will end his tenure in the American Conference with a conference title.
Projected Score: North Texas 38, Tulane 35
Saturday, December 6
Big 12 Championship Game
11.BYU (11-1) vs. 4.Texas Tech (11-1) (Arlington)
12 PM ET, ABC
After getting blown out 29-7 in Lubbock against Texas Tech on Nov. 1, BYU will return to Texas to face the Red Raiders for the chance to play in the College Football Playoff. It will be up to the Cougar offense to score more than just a touchdown against the Red Raiders’ tough defense on Saturday if they want to defeat them for the first time since Oct. 18. A close BYU win could get both teams in the CFP bracket on Sunday.
If the Cougar offense scores more than seven points on Saturday afternoon, it will be because quarterback Bear Bachmeier leads the way with his 2,593 passing yards, 529 rushing yards, and 25 combined touchdowns. Next to him, tailback LJ Martin has been one of the best in the country by topping 1,200 rush yards and 11 more scores. Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez had a fantastic game against BYU back in October. A repeat performance would likely lead to another victory for his team.
If Martin can sent up Bachmeier’s pass game, receivers Parker Kingston (804 yards and 5 TDs), Chase Roberts (713 yards and 5 TDs), and tight end Carsen Ryan (472 yards and 3 TDs) can make plays against a talented Texas Tech secondary. Defensive backs Cole Wisniewski (67 tackles, 5 passes defended, and 1 sack) and Brice Pollock (41 tackles, 5 interceptions, and 4 passes defended) will look to shut it down.
BYU safeties Faletau Satuala’s and Tanner Wall’s combined five interceptions and two passes defended will attempt to limit Texas Tech signal-caller Behren Morton’s play. Morton has thrown for 2,428 yards, 20 touchdowns, and just four interceptions. Three receivers Caleb Douglas (823 yards and 7 TDs), Reggie Virgil (590 yards and 6 TDs), Coy Eakin (560 yards and 4 TDs), and tight end Terrance Carter Jr. (530 yards and 5 TDs) will look to help him Morton out.
Running back Cameron Dickey has paced the Red Raiders with 1,023 yards and 13 scores. Linebackers Isaiah Glasker (54 tackles, 3 interceptions, 2 passes defended, and 1 sack) and Jack Kelly (52 tackles, 9 sacks, and 1 pass defended)’s ability to shut down the Red Raider ground game.
While BYU should show up a little better than they did on the road versus Texas Tech, they will not be able to defeat the Red Raiders in 2025. The Cougars would lose their second game to Texas Tech in a month and a half and would not appear in this season’s College Football Playoff.
Projected Score: Texas Tech 31, BYU 14
SEC Championship Game
9.Alabama (10-2) vs. 3.Georgia (11-1) (Atlanta)
4 PM ET, ABC
Alabama needed a game-winning touchdown from quarterback Ty Simpson to wide receiver Isaiah Horton with under four minutes left to defeat hated instate rival Auburn in the Iron Bowl and advance to Saturday’s SEC Championship game. Since Georgia’s loss to Alabama on Sep. 28, the Bulldogs have begun playing their best football of the season despite slowing down a bit in their 16-9 victory against Georgia Tech in the “Clean, Old Fashioned Hate” rivalry.
For the Crimson Tide to defeat Georgia again, their defense must totally eliminate the Bulldogs’ offense like the Georgia Tech defense did last week. For that to happen, linebackers Justin Jefferson (63 tackles, 5 passes defended, 2 sacks, and 1 interception), Deontae Lawson (60 tackles and 3 passes defended), and Yhonzae Pierre (39 tackles and 6 sacks) must pressure Georgia signal-caller Gunner Stockton (2,535 passing yards, 403 rushing yards, 28 total TDs, and 5 INTs). Standing next to Stockton in the backfield are tailbacks Nate Frazier (809 yards and 5 TDs) and Chauncey Bowens (493 yards and 6 TDs), who will look to make things easier on their quarterback.
Defensive backs Bray Hubbard (55 tackles, 8 passes defended, 4 interceptions) and Keon Sabb (38 tackles, 3 passes defended, 1 interception, and 1 sack) must defend the Georgia receivers better than they did against Auburn’s Cam Coleman and Eric Singleton when they made their comeback last weekend. Georgia wideouts Zachariah Branch (691 yards and 4 TDs), Colbie Young (336 yards and 1 TD), and London Humphreys (276 yards and 3 TDs) will look to replicate what Coleman and Singleton did last week.
On offense, Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson (3,056 yards, 25 TDs, and 4 INTs) has not been as good as he was when they played Georgia the first time. It will be up to Simpson to get the ball to receivers Germie Bernard (700 yards and 6 TDs) and Ryan Williams (598 yards and 4 TDs) after he had a quiet performance against the Tigers. Georgia defensive backs KJ Bolden (63 tackles, 3 passes defended, and 2 interceptions) and Joenel Aguero (39 tackles, 2 passes defended, and 1 interception) will look to stop Simpson from getting the ball to Bernard and Williams similar to how Auburn did last week.
On the other hand, Jam Miller (493 yards and 3 TDs) and Kevin Riley (222 yards and 2 TDs) paced the offense last Saturday to help the Crimson Tide’s offense succeed against Auburn. They will need to open up their passing game against Georgia’s defense if they want to come out victorious. Linebackers CJ Allen’s and Raylen Wilson’s have combined for 145 tackles and 6 sacks this season and they will look to pressure Simpson and shut running gaps for Miller and Riley.
Even with a loss to Georgia in the SEC Championship game, Alabama should be still be in the College Football Playoff with a strong resumé including wins over then No. 5 Georgia, No. 16 Vanderbilt, No. 14 Missouri, No. 11 Tennessee before losing to then No. 11 Oklahoma. The Crimson Tide do have the worst loss of any team currently in the playoff rankings when they opened the season with a loss to Florida State. That being said, the Bulldogs will defeat Alabama for the first time since the 2021 National Championship game and clinch a bye in the College Football Playoff.
Projected Score: Georgia 27, Alabama 24
Big Ten Championship Game
2.Indiana (12-0) vs. 1.Ohio State (12-0) (Indianapolis)
8 PM ET, FOX
Saturday night’s battle between the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes and the No. 2 Indiana Hoosiers will be for the top spot in the final College Football Playoff Rankings on Sunday. The Buckeyes finally defeated Michigan, 27-9, last Saturday for the first time in five attempts in “The Game”. The Hoosiers finished their 2025 campaign with a dominant 56-3 win over instate rival Purdue. The winner of the Big Ten Championship will likely not have to play again until the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on Jan. 1 so much is on the line.
For Indiana to succeed against Ohio State’s defense, Fernando Mendoza (2,758 yards, 32 TDs, and 5 INTs) must be successful passing the ball behind center against the Buckeyes’ strong front seven. Ohio State’s Sonny Styles (69 tackles, 3 passes defended, 1 interception, and 0.5 sacks) and Arvell Reese (61 tackles, 6.5 sacks, and 2 passes defended) will look to get to Mendoza and keep him from getting the ball to the tremendous duo of Omar Cooper Jr. (804 yards) and Elijah Sarratt (650 yards) and their combined 22 touchdowns on the season.
The trio of Rhoman Hemby’s, Kaelon Black’s, and Khobie Martin’s combined 20 scores from the backfield will be crucial in setting up Mendoza’s passing game against one of the best players in the country, Ohio State safety Caleb Downs, who has totaled 52 tackles, 2 interceptions, 1 pass defended, and 1 sack this season.
Indiana defensive backs Louis Moore’s and Devan Boykins’ combined seven interceptions and five passes defended will be important against Julian Sayin (3,065 yards, 30 TDs, and 5 INTs) and his terrific receiving core including Jeremiah Smith, who has caught 72 passes for 942 yards, and 11 touchdowns and Carnell Tate who has caught 44 passes for 793 yards and 793 yards.
Linebackers Rolijah Hardy (77 tackles, 7 sacks, and 3 passes defended) and Aiden Fisher (70 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and 2 interceptions) will be vital against defending Ohio State’s ground game which succeeded greatly in their win over Michigan. The Buckeyes’ Bo Jackson rushed for 117 yards and CJ Donaldson rushed for 44 yards against the Wolverines.
In what should be a fantastic match up, Ohio State will top Indiana. With a victory over the Hoosiers, the Buckeyes would clinch the top seed in the College Football Playoff and would be the betting favorite to win their second consecutive national championship. Indiana would likely fall a few spots but they would still be a top four seed with a first round bye in the playoffs.
Projected Score: Ohio State 30, Indiana 23
ACC Championship Game
Duke (7-5) vs. 17.Virginia (10-2) (Charlotte)
8 PM ET, ABC
An interesting ACC Title game returns to Charlotte on Saturday night between charter members Duke and Virginia. Manny Diaz’s Duke Blue Devils could win the ACC with a 7-5 record because they went 6-2 in conference play despite losses to Tulane and UConn outside of the league. On the other hand, Tony Elliott’s Virginia Cavaliers have been one of the more impressive teams in the ACC this season thanks to 10 regular season wins and a league best seven regular season conference wins. If the Cavaliers defeat the Blue Devils for the second time in three weeks on Saturday, they will supplant Miami as the ACC’s representative in the College Football Playoff after winning the conference championship game.
The Blue Devils offense is multidimensional with quarterback Darian Mensah throwing for over 3,400 yards and 28 touchdowns, running backs Nate Sheppard (865 yards and 9 TDs) and Anderson Castle (435 yards and 11 TDs), and receivers Cooper Barkate (978 yards and 6 TDs), Que’Sean Brown (665 yards and 3 TDs), and Sahmir Hagans (432 yards and 6 TDs) all contributing to their cause.
Virginia safeties Devil Neal (70 tackles, 6 passes defended, and 0.5 sacks) and Ethan Minter (45 tackles, 3 passes defended, and 1 interception) will look to shut down Mensah’s passing attack. Linebackers Cam Robinson’s and James Jackson’s combined 119 tackles are vital against the Duke ground game.
Duke safeties Caleb Weaver and DaShawn Stone both cause takeaways in the secondary with three interceptions and three passes defended between them. Their challenge will be Cavalier quarterback Chandler Morris, who has thrown for 2,586 yards, rushed for 248 yards, and has accounted for 19 overall touchdowns. Morris will look to get the ball to receivers Trell Harris (809 yards and 5 TDs), Jahmal Edrine (484 yards and 1 TD), and Cam Ross (459 yards and 2 TDs).
Running backs J’Mari Taylor has almost reached 1,000 yards and already has 14 touchdowns on the season and Harrison Waylee (422 yards and 5 TDs) will attempt to cause problems for Duke’s defense. Linebackers Luke Mergott (72 tackles, 3 passes defended, and 1 sack) and Jaiden Francois (70 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 pass defended) will attempt to shut gaps for the Virginia tailbacks so they cannot advance the ball on the ground.
It is hard to know what to expect in Saturday night’s battle between Duke and Virginia. But, I believe the Cavaliers will make sure the ACC gets at least one squad in this season’s College Football Playoff by beating the Blue Devils. If that is the case, Duke would suffer its sixth loss despite making the ACC Title game.
Projected Score: Virginia 31, Duke 20
