Joel Klatt has updated his college football rankings after Week 12. Throughout the season he’s tried to make sense of the Top 10 teams in the nation, but as the season reaches an inflection point, he’s expanded his list to 15.
There’s plenty of magnificent options to choose from. Two pivotal contests took place in the SEC and it’s bound to cause some movement — Georgia defeated Texas in Athens, while Oklahoma went on the road and beat Alabama, their second win in a row over the Crimson Tide.
What does that mean for Klatt’s rankings? Check out his Top 15 below, as the FOX Sports analyst shared it via the latest episode of The Joel Klatt Show.
Ohio State wasted little time jumping out to a big early lead over UCLA, pitching a first-half shutout to take a commanding 27-0 lead. Quarterback Julian Sayin was once again on point and was basically resting by the fourth quarter.
That’s been the theme for Ohio State. You have to go all the way back to the season opener to find a relatively close game, and even that one was relatively controlled. Next up is Rutgers, followed by a final ranked showdown with Michigan on the road.
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Wisconsin had put together a little bit of momentum recently, but Indiana made sure it wasn’t about to be caught up in any of that. The Hoosiers absolutely dominated the second half, pitching a shutout defensively while scoring 21 points on offense.
That was enough to seal a comfortable win as Indiana essentially assured itself of a playoff spot with an 11th win this year. Fernando Mendoza? Once again excellent. He finished with 299 yards passing and four touchdowns in the win.
It doesn’t always happen quickly, but Georgia almost always wears on you over the course of the game. The only time it didn’t really work was against Alabama, and the Bulldogs were right in there with a shot in that one, too.
Against Texas in a game with major playoff implications, quarterback Gunner Stockton was once again on point. He threw for four touchdowns and ran for another as Georgia moved into a more dominant position in the SEC race.
Texas A&M dug itself a huge hole, going down 30-3 in the first half. Improbably, the Aggies worked all the way back to level pegging by game’s end. A shutout in the second half allowed the Aggies to score 28 to eke out the win.
You’re going to have to survive some games like that, and the Aggies have proven adept at that so far this year. Marcel Reed threw two interceptions but also finished with 439 yards passing and three scores, more than making up for the miscues in the end.
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Texas Tech came out hot out of the gates, thanks in no small part to linebacker Jacob Rodriguez. Rodriguez even got involved with a rushing touchdown early on. Texas Tech had a 38-2 lead at the halftime break and cruised from there.
The Red Raiders have proven their mettle with a pair of ranked wins earlier this season against Utah and BYU. There are no ranked opponents left, with only a road trip to West Virginia standing in the way of a playoff berth.
In a somewhat rare Friday night game, Oregon came out ahead in pretty convincing fashion. The team led 28-6 at halftime and the game was never really in dispute. That’s what contending teams do, they look the part.
Oregon certainly looks the part of a playoff contender at this point. The team’s lone loss is to an unbeaten Indiana team that has steamrolled plenty of quality opponents this year. The Ducks are close to locking up their own bid.
Things got interesting for Ole Miss, but it made the plays needed down the stretch and Florida did not. Even a late decision to for it on fourth-and-goal up 27-24 (the Rebels did not convert) didn’t end up proving costly.
Trinidad Chambliss threw for 301 yards and a touchdown, while Kewan Lacy ran for 224 yards and three scores. That ended any notion of the Gators springing an upset on the seemingly playoff-bound Rebels.
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It was far from a perfect win at Alabama, but the defense put the team in position to succeed and John Mateer and company delivered. The Sooners scored on four short fields, including on a pick-six from Ty Simpson. That was enough to power past Alabama in a hostile road environment.
The win cements Oklahoma as a bonafide playoff contender but otherwise does relatively little. The scenario for Oklahoma has always been win out to get in. With home games against Missouri and LSU remaining, that’s certainly doable.
Notre Dame opened up a two-touchdown lead in the first quarter and never really looked back. The Fighting Irish added points in every frame to keep constant pressure on a Pittsburgh team that cracked under it.
Jeremiyah Love had another big day for the Irish, rushing for 147 yards and a touchdown in the win. That helped cover for two interceptions on the part of quarterback CJ Carr.
Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson just didn’t seem to have it all the way on Saturday, despite finishing with 326 passing yards and a touchdown. He threw one interception and missed several key conversion opportunities with poor throws.
That was enough for the Oklahoma defense to keep Alabama off-kilter through most of the afternoon. The Sooners were able to capitalize on a handful of short fields to come away with the win. Now Alabama’s path is equally clear: It must win out the rest of the regular season, at minimum.
11. BYU Cougars (NR)
12. USC Trojans (NR)
13. Utah Utes (NR)
14. Texas Longhorns (-4)
15. Michigan Wolverines (NR)
— On3’s Thomas Goldkamp contributed to this article.