Who are the best four teams in college football?
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College football selection day is here, and with that we bring our final Top 25 of the regular season. It is formatted a little differently this week to give everyone our definitive Top 4 and then the first four out of the Playoff, but we hope you have enjoyed our rankings for the whole season.
And without further ado...
THE TOP FOUR
1. Alabama — SEC, 13-0
LW: 1 — Result: W, 54-16 vs. Florida
Was there really any doubt?
2. Ohio State — Big Ten, 11-1
LW: 2 — Result: W, 30-27 vs. Michigan
Yes, Ohio State stays at No. 2. They only have one loss and they easily have one of the most impressive resumes. They won at Oklahoma, and they beat Michigan to end the season. I don't really care that they didn't get into the Big Ten title game because of technicalities.
3. Washington — Pac-12, 12-1
LW: 4 — Result: W, 41-10 vs. Colorado
Washington really had one of the more impressive wins of the weekend. I know Colorado QB Sefo Luifau went down early, but Washington putting up 41 on that defense was quite the statement. At 12-1, they should be in the Playoff.
4. Clemson — ACC, 12-1
LW: 3 — Result: W, 42-35 vs. Virginia Tech
Clemson moves down a spot for the sake of making things easy. Plus, that win over Virginia Tech pales in comparison to what Washington did on Friday. I mean, VT lost to Syracuse, Georgia Tech, and Tennessee before that ACC title game; not exactly inspiring.
Alabama vs. Clemson in the Peach Bowl, and Washington vs. Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl. Boom, done. Book it.
THE NEXT FOUR
5. Michigan — Big Ten, 10-2
LW: 5 — Result: DNP
Some are probably going to refer to this category as "just missed" the Playoff, but not to me, these guys are decidedly out.
Why Michigan at 5 over Penn State? Well, there is that 49-10 whooping that Michigan put on Penn State a while back. And if these two teams were to play today, I would still take Michigan over how much the Nittany Lions have improved since then.
6. Penn State — Big Ten, 11-2
LW: 6 — Result: W, 38-31 vs. Wisconsin
The comeback win against Wisconsin was impressive. The Big Ten title is cool. However, Penn State still didn't do enough to get into the Playoff above the teams ahead of them. I know a lot of people are talking about how a conference title should mean more, but are we just going to disqualify out-of-conference records and forget that Penn State lost to Pitt as well as Michigan?
Conference titles should matter, but we have a committee for years like this where it's more complicated than that.
7. Oklahoma — Big 12, 10-2
LW: 9 — Result: W, 38-20 vs. Oklahoma State
Speaking of "conference titles should matter", Oklahoma just won their conference and they don't deserve to be in the Top 4 either. However, I am impressed with the way they have closed the season, and hopefully Dede Westbrook recovers in time to play in a bowl game.
8. Wisconsin — Big Ten, 10-3
LW: 7 — Result: L, 31-38 vs. Penn State
ROW THE BOAT
9. Western Michigan — MAC, 13-0
LW: 10 — Result: W, 26-20 vs. Ohio
Going undefeated is hard, even in the MAC. Congrats to P.J. Fleck and his team.
LIKELY NEW YEAR'S SIX TEAMS... AND COLORADO
10. USC — Pac-12, 9-3
LW: 12 — Result: DNP
11. Colorado — Pac-12, 10-3
LW: 8 — Result: BYE
12. Florida State — ACC, 9-3
LW: 13 — Result: DNP
13. Auburn — SEC, 8-4
LW: 15 — Result: DNP
STILL VERY GOOD POWER 5 TEAMS
14. Stanford— Pac-12, 9-3
LW: 16 — Result: DNP
15. West Virginia — Big 12, 10-2
LW: 13 — Result: W, 24-21 vs. Baylor
16. Oklahoma State — Big 12, 9-3
LW: 11 — Result: L, 20-38 vs. Oklahoma
17. Florida — SEC, 8-4
LW: 18 — Result:L, 16-54 vs. Alabama
18. LSU — SEC, 7-4
LW: 19 — Result: DNP
19. Pittsburgh — ACC, 8-4
LW: 23 — Result: DNP
THE AMERICAN
20. Houston — AAC, 9-3
LW: 20 — Result: DNP
21. Temple — AAC, 10-3
LW: NR — Result: W, 34-10 vs. Navy
22. Navy — AAC, 9-3
LW: 14 — Result: L, 10-34 vs. Temple
23. South Florida — AAC, 10-2
LW: 21 — Result: DNP
DON'T LOSE LATE NEXT TIME
24. Louisville — ACC, 9-3
LW: 24 — Result: DNP
25. Boise State — MW, 10-2
LW: 25 — Result: DNP
DROPPED FROM THE RANKINGS: Virginia Tech (22)
