Now that every college football team in the nation has at least one game under their belts, the Associated Press has updated its preseason top 25 rankings to reflect the current situation.
The College Football Playoff Selection Committee will not begin issuing its rankings until late October, so the AP ranking and the NCAAF futures at college football betting sites are the best indicators available at this juncture of the season.
AP Top 10 Rankings
- 1. Georgia (1-0)
- 2. Ohio State (1-0)
- 3. Texas (1-0)
- 4. Alabama (1-0)
- 5. Notre Dame (1-0)
- 6. Ole Miss (1-0)
- 7. Oregon (1-0)
- 8. Penn State (1-0)
- 9. Missouri (1-0)
- 10. Michigan (1-0)
This year’s 12-team CFP will include automatic bids for the top four ranked conference winners. It can be assumed that these top four seeds will come from the Power Four conferences, but only two are represented in the top ten.
The SEC and Big Ten are expected to produce the nation’s top college football programs this season. Should the NCAA be concerned about the disparity between these two conferences and the rest of Division I?
The CFP Committee is still finalizing next year’s format to acknowledge the implosion of the Pac-12, but is the current downgrade of the ACC and Big 12 has the potential to last.
Power Four Representation In The Top 10
- SEC – 5
- Big Ten – 4
- Independent – 1
- Big 12 – 0
- ACC – 0
The Utah Utes are ranked 11th and are the highest-rated team in the Big 12. Miami is the best team in the ACC at number 12. If the season ends with a similar outcome, is it fair to place these teams as the third and fourth seeds in the CFP?
College Football Teams Ranked 11-25
- 11. Utah (1-0)
- 12. Miami (1-0)
- 13. USC (1-0)
- 14. Tennessee (1-0)
- 15. Oklahoma (1-0)
- 16. Oklahoma State (1-0)
- 17. Kansas State (1-0)
- 18. LSU (0-1)
- 19. Kansas (1-0)
- 20. Arizona (1-0)
- 21. Iowa (1-0)
- 22. Louisville (1-0)
- 23. Georgia Tech (2-0)
- 24. North Carolina State (1-0)
- 25. Clemson (0-1)
As an independent, the best Notre Dame can do is qualify as the fifth seed in the playoffs. That matches their current ranking, and they are the only non-conference affiliated team in the top 25.
Power Four Representation In The T0p 25
- SEC – 8
- Big Ten – 6
- Big 12 – 5
- ACC – 5
- Independent – 1
This Saturday, a massive out-of-conference game is going down between the 5th-ranked Texas Longhorns and the defending national champion Michigan Wolverines, who are ranked 10th.
Michigan is hosting the game, but point spreads are favoring Texas by 7.5 on the road. Due to this year’s CFP format, either team can lose and still maintain hopes for a top-four seed, but the results will cause a shift in the overall opinions on the strength of the SEC and Big Ten.
Sources:
- Bovada Sportsbook (Bovada College Football Betting Site Review)
- The Associated Press
