Editor’s Note: The Athletic 134 is a weekly ranking of all FBS college football teams.
The ACC and Big 12’s hopes of sending multiple teams to the first 12-team College Football Playoff took a hit over the weekend.
Both Miami (Fla.) and Iowa State lost, which greatly hurt their overall hopes. Meanwhile, Ole Miss’ win at Georgia brought more SEC teams into the playoff mix rather than eliminating one team with a third loss. BYU’s running back at Utah State likely didn’t help her overall case with the committee either.
At this point, these leagues’ best hope for multiple bids is for an upset in their conference championship games that doesn’t knock the top team out of the mix as well. These two conferences should also be rooting for Tennessee’s win over Georgia next week and hope Alabama and Ole Miss find a second loss somewhere. The horde of two-loss SEC teams has the potential to put pressure on not only the high hopes of the ACC and Big 12 but a team like Indiana as well should the Hoosiers lose to Ohio State in crushing fashion.
But this is not the committee. This is The Athletic 134, and I’m sticking to my rankings and not reacting to the preliminary CFP rankings as poll voters sometimes do.
Here’s this week’s edition of The Athletic 134.
1-10 Rank Previous team record
1
10-0
1
2
8-1
3
3
8-1
5
4
9-0
6
5
8-1
7
6
8-1
8
7
10-0
9
8
7-2
13
9
8-2
16
10
7-2
2
Is BYU the fourth best team in the country? I don’t know, but they keep getting wins, and they still have two wins over top 20 teams in SMU and Kansas State. This is a good resume. Should Tennessee be higher than the Cougars with a loss to Arkansas or should Penn State and Indiana be higher without a win as a top 25 team? Right now, I don’t really think so.
Indiana State moved up from ninth to seventh thanks to losses to Georgia and Miami, but the Hoosiers barely managed to pull out a 20-15 win over a Michigan team that pushed them a bit in the second half. I think Indiana State should be safe for a CFP berth as long as it beats Purdue, but a tough loss to Ohio State could start a conversation. We’ll see what happens in two weeks.
Alabama jumps from No. 13 to No. 8 after beating LSU on the road, while Ole Miss jumps from No. 16 to No. 9 after taking on Georgia. Suddenly the Bulldogs were barely clinging to a spot in the CFP, losing to both Alabama and Ole Miss. Alabama remains ahead of Ole Miss here because of their performance against LSU, which beat Ole Miss.
Go deeper
2024 College Football Playoff predictions: Indiana has a 92 percent chance of getting to the field
11-25
Notre Dame actually fell out of my CFP field after Alabama and Ole Miss moved up. The Irish may be another team hoping the SEC will eliminate some of its teams, depending on what the SEC shows on Tuesday.
SMU is my new leader in the ACC at No. 12 and in position as a No. 4 seed. The problem with Miami’s poor resume is that they couldn’t afford to lose badly, and they had a big loss to Georgia Tech, falling from No. 4 to No. 14. Miami wins include Louisville and…Duke? Early season escapes against Cal and Virginia Tech don’t help. SMU also has wins over Louisville and Duke, plus a win for Pitt (which doesn’t mean much this week), and its only loss is undefeated BYU.
Colorado reached No. 17 and is in control of its way to the Big 12 title game and a CFP spot after Saturday’s win at Texas Tech. Washington State is 8-1 and up to No. 18, but the road to an at-large spot may be a long way off. Still, the Cougars are having a great season and should feel good about that.
South Carolina jumps to No. 20 after its dominant win over Vanderbilt. Army also recently joined that group at No. 22 after beating North Texas 14-3. The Black Knights went from zero wins over teams with a winning record to two wins over the weekend, thanks to this game and East Carolina’s win elsewhere. Arizona State earned a No. 25 seed after beating UCF to move to 7-2.
Go deeper
Mandel’s final thoughts: Alabama got its act together and looks like a playoff contender…again
26-50
Tulane has been quietly rolling in as high as No. 26, which is big in the race for a guaranteed Group of Five playoff bid if Boise State falters. Iowa State fell to 27th place after losing to Kansas, while Pitt fell to 28th place after losing to Virginia, which is the second loss in a row for both teams. 8-1 Louisiana may be a long way from competing for a G5 spot in the CFP, especially since its only loss was to Tulane, but the Ragin’ Cajuns look like the best team in the Sun Belt and are having a really good season, now up to No. 31.
Georgia Tech jumps to 32nd place after beating Miami. Syracuse fell to No. 40 after losing to Boston College, while Iowa State dropped to No. 41 after a loss at UCLA. West Virginia’s win over Cincinnati moves the Mountaineers up to No. 46.
Go deeper
CFP Racing Lessons for Week 11: Mizzou in ‘Playoff Chase’? ACC with one bid?
51-75
UCLA has really turned things around, winning three straight games and rising to 57th after sitting near the bottom of the Power 4 not too long ago. NC State fell to No. 64 after losing to Duke. Kansas jumps from 85th to 65th thanks to its win over Iowa State. No. 71 UConn is 7-3, the most wins since the 2010 Fiesta Bowl season, after beating UAB.
76-100
San Jose State’s win over Oregon State moved the Spartans up to No. 79 and the Beavers down to No. 80. Jacksonville State, No. 81, scored in a Hail Mary against Louisiana Tech and missed the game-winning extra point but won in overtime on Anyway to stay at the top of the Conference USA standings.
Oklahoma State’s collapse continued with a 38-13 loss to TCU, making it seven straight losses for the Cowboys, who fell to No. 85. Texas State beat ULM to move to No. 84. The MAC pack continues, as do Miami (both won), Ohio State and Bowling Green , and Northern Illinois handed Western Michigan its first MAC defeat. Four teams were tied at the top of the conference standings at 4-1.
Has East Carolina turned things around since firing coach Mike Houston? The Buccaneers are 2-0 under interim coach Blake Harrell, and they have scored a combined 105 points in wins against Temple and FAU, moving them up to 97th place.
101-134
I’ve never been numb to seeing Florida State lose every week, and they’ve now dropped to 103rd after a 52-3 loss to Notre Dame. It’s still shocking every time. Mike Norvell hit the ground running early in the housecleaning, announcing Sunday that both coordinators had been fired. New Mexico is 4-6 and up to No. 109 after its win over San Diego State. Nevada may be the best 3-8 team in the country – the Wolf Pack has now pushed SMU and Boise State to the max in defeat this season.
Air Force beat Fresno State to move to No. 126, and in a battle of one-win teams, UTEP beat Kennesaw State in overtime, prompting a coaching change at Kennesaw State. Kent State lost 41-0 to Ohio and remains winless and at the bottom of the rankings.
The Athletic 134 Series is part of the partnership with Allstate. The Athletic maintains complete editorial independence. Partners have no control or input in the reporting or editorial process and do not review stories before publication.
(Photo: Justin Ford/Getty Images)
