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Every time college football fans believe the results on the field will provide more clarity when it comes to the College Football Playoff, the picture often ends up becoming more blurred. That was the case in Week 12, where nearly every contender either showed serious signs of concern or took a loss ahead of the committee’s Week 13 CFP rankings. There are only two more weeks left in the regular season, which means we’re getting to the business end of the season ahead of conference championship games.
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There’s still a lot to be sorted out in the SEC, ACC and Group of Five when it comes to the playoff representatives. Despite being undefeated, Texas A&M still needs to beat Texas in the final game of the season to lock up a spot in the SEC title game. Louisville lost to Clemson on Friday thanks to some poor special teams play, sending the Cardinals back into the ACC jumble. Pitt couldn’t pull of the upset over Notre Dame, and Georgia Tech nearly lost to Boston College in a 36-34 shootout. On the Group of Five front, South Florida lost to Navy to further muddle the AAC standings.
Here’s a look at the odds for the top teams to make the College Football Playoff ahead of Week 13.
College Football Playoff odds (via FanDuel)Ohio State (OTB)Indiana (OTB)Oregon (-250 to make, +198 to miss)Texas A&M (OTB)Alabama (-225 to make, +180 to miss)Georgia (OTB)Ole Miss (-3500 to make, +1200 to miss)Oklahoma (-194 to make, +156 to miss)Texas Tech (-2200 to make, +980 to miss)BYU (+270 to make, -355 to miss)Miami (+340 to make, -470 to miss)Virginia (+270 to make, -355 to miss)SMU (+350 to make, -480 to miss)Georgia Tech (+164 to make, -205 to miss)North Texas (-114 to make, -106 to miss)Navy (+3000 to make)Notre Dame (-3000 to make, +1120 to miss)James Madison (+185 to make, -235 to miss)
The biggest result Saturday was Oklahoma knocking off Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The Sooners kept their playoff hopes alive while substantially denting Alabama’s path to Atlanta. Georgia dominating Texas gives the Bulldogs a nice edge, especially since their final game will be against Georgia Tech. That could be a signature non-conference win to propel Georgia to a CFP bye.
Miami is getting a lot of love from the committee but the Hurricanes have a complicated path to Charlotte. Pitt and Georgia Tech play each other, meaning one will get a second conference loss. However, Virginia and SMU could still both end the season with just one conference loss. At the moment, the Hurricanes are going to remain in the CFP bracket due to a win but this is unlikely to last.
North Texas has found itself back in the AAC and CFP mix thanks in large part to South Florida losing. Navy could lose to Memphis and that would really benefit the Mean Green, since they’ll need to leapfrog one of Navy and Tulane in the standings to make the AAC title game.
Here’s a look at the projected bracket ahead of Week 13 taking the committee’s initial rankings and the Week 12 results into account.
College Football Playoff projected bracketNo. 1 Ohio StateNo. 2 IndianaNo. 3 Texas A&MNo. 4 GeorgiaNo. 5 Texas Tech vs. No. 12 OklahomaNo. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 11 North TexasNo. 7 Notre Dame vs. No. 10 MiamiNo. 8 Alabama vs. No. 9 Oregon