USC rises into Top 4 as Ohio State falls out of College Football Playoff semifinal spots

The USC Trojans have played themselves into the 2022 College Football Playoff, with just 60 minutes against the Utah Utes standing between them and the first appearance in the CFP by a Pac-12 team in six years.

That’s the biggest change to the top of the last CFP rankings that don’t count on November 29, as the Ohio State Buckeyes are out of the mix for now following their 45-23 defeat by the Michigan Wolverines in The Horseshoe on Saturday. Since the Buckeyes are at No. 5 they aren’t completely eliminated from contention, and a wild weekend to end the college football season could see them back in the mix.

The top four teams are each playing in a title game, and if all four win we have our semifinalists even if the committee decides to play with the order of finish and seeding. Conference championships are a consideration from the committee, and so it is on the racket of the widely-expected teams listed below.

If either USC or TCU were to fall out, Ohio State would appear to get the nod over Alabama. While Georgia and Michigan are likely safe even with a loss (because Michigan should still rate well over the team they just beat by 22 points on the road), the work remaining belongs to the Horned Frogs as they take on the Kansas State Wildcats, and the Trojans against the Utah Utes, the only team to beat them this season.

With the championships ahead, we can expect some shakeups below that level in the rankings. But we have our semifinalists if they can hold serve.

Here are the full rankings after Week 13.

College Football Playoff Top 25

1. Georgia
2. Michigan
3. TCU
4. USC
5. Ohio State
6. Alabama
7. Tennessee
8. Penn State
9. Clemson
10. Kansas State
11. Utah
12. Washington
13. Florida State
14. LSU
15. Oregon State
16. Oregon
17. UCLA
18. Tulane
19. South Carolina
20. Texas
21. Notre Dame
22. UCF
23. UNC
24. Miss State
25. NC State