Power Ranking All 124 CFB Teams

By (Correspondent) on November 26, 2012

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It is hard to believe, but the college football season is almost over. While it feels the season just started yesterday, we are heading into the final week and will be treated to some outstanding conference title games.

This past week, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish punched their ticket to the national title game, and the winner of the SEC title game between Alabama and Georgia will be joining Notre Dame in Miami.

Before conference title games get underway, here is a look at this week's power rankings. 

No. 124- No. 85

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Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

No. 124: Southern Miss

No. 123: Massachusetts

No. 122: Idaho 

No. 121: New Mexico State

No. 120: Akron

No. 119: Colorado 

No. 118: Kansas

No. 117: South Alabama

No. 116: UNLV

No. 115: Hawaii

No. 114: Kentucky

No. 113: Eastern Michigan

No. 112: Army

No. 111: Tulane

No. 110: Illinois 

No. 109: Boston College

No. 108: Texas State

No. 107: FIU

No. 106: Florida Atlantic

No. 105: Washington State

No. 104: UTEP

No. 103: UAB

No. 102: Cal

No. 101: South Florida 

No. 100: North Texas

No. 99: Auburn

No. 98: New Mexico 

No. 97: Arkansas

No. 96: Colorado State

No. 95: Wyoming 

No. 94: Western Michigan

No. 93: Miami (OH)

No. 92: Buffalo

No. 91: Memphis

No. 90: Indiana

No. 89: Temple

No. 88: Iowa

No. 87: Virginia 

No. 86: Maryland

No. 85: Troy

No. 84- No. 51

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Geoff Burke/Getty Images

No. 84: Tennessee 

No. 83: Utah

No. 82: Missouri 

No. 81: Houston

No. 80: Marshall

No. 79: Pitt

No. 78: Wake Forest

No. 77: Connecticut

No. 76: Ole Miss

No. 75: Western Kentucky

No. 74: Central Michigan 

No. 73: Georgia Tech

No. 72: Iowa State

No. 71: Minnesota 

No. 70: Rice

No. 69: Air Force

No. 68: SMU

No. 67: Purdue

No. 66: Baylor

No. 65: Michigan State

No. 64: Duke

No. 63: West Virginia

No. 62: Virginia Tech

No. 61: East Carolina

No. 60: BYU

No. 59: Miami 

No. 58: Navy

No. 57: Nevada

No. 56: Louisiana Lafayette

No. 55: UTSA

No. 54: NC State

No. 53: Syracuse

No. 52: Texas Tech

No. 51: Wisconsin 

No. 50: Ohio

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Jamie Sabau/Getty Images

After a 7-0 start, it appeared that the Bobcats were on their way to a special season. The following week, the collapse began as Ohio lost four of its next five games. 

For an offense that seemed to be clicking on all cylinders, the Bobcats struggled down the stretch and saw their outstanding season vanish. 

No. 49: Washington

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Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Washington was riding high coming into this past weekend's game but saw its season come to a rough end as the Huskies lost an overtime game to rival Washington State. 

With the loss, the Huskies dropped to 7-5 and will need to bounce back and finish strong during the bowl season. 

No. 48: Louisiana Monroe

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Chris Graythen/Getty Images

The final record for Louisiana Monroe is 8-4, and the Warhawks had an up-and-down season throughout. After the promising start they had, many believed they could win the Sun Belt, but back-to-back conference losses dropped them out of contention. 

No. 47: UCF

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J. Meric/Getty Images

UCF finished the season 9-3, and the team is heading to the Conference USA title game and will play Tulsa. These two teams faced off a couple of weeks ago and played a close game that the Knights lost, so they will have to figure out how to be more effective the second time around. 

No. 46: Tulsa

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Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

After an outstanding season, Tulsa is heading to the Conference USA title game and will be taking on UCF. Throughout the year, the Golden Hurricanes' offense and defense have been able to show outstanding balance and will be a tough matchup for UCF. 

No. 45: Bowling Green

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Kirk Irwin/Getty Images

With the Bowling Green season now over, the Falcons finished the year 8-4 and finished toward the top of the MAC. Throughout the year, the Bowling Green defense was able to help this team close out wins, but the offense often came up short in big games. 

No. 44: Middle Tennessee

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Stacy Revere/Getty Images

Surprisingly, the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders are finishing up a strong season and are tied for first in the Sun Belt Conference. This week, they are taking on Arkansas State, and the winner of the matchup will be the conference champion. 

No. 43: Louisiana Tech

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Two weeks ago, Louisiana Tech had a shot at the WAC title, but now the Bulldogs find themselves on the outside looking in. The Bulldogs dropped a huge game to the Utah State Aggies, and then followed it up by stumbling against San Jose State.

No. 42: Toledo

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After a promising start to the season, Toledo stumbled down the stretch as it lost two out of its last three games. While the offense did a great job in most games, the defense routinely let the team down in big spots and was the biggest reason the team came up short in the MAC.

No. 41: Arizona State

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Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Arizona State managed to salvage its season with two straight wins to end it, including a win over Arizona to claim the Territorial Cup.

With the win, the Sun Devils finished the regular season with a 7-5 record, and it will be interesting to see if Todd Graham remains with the program, as his past has shown he is quick to move. 

No. 40: North Carolina

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Grant Halverson/Getty Images

The first season for Larry Fedora was okay at North Carolina, as the Tar Heels went 8-4 on the year. Overall, the offense was great this season, but the defense let them down in key games and in big moments, ultimately leading to the four losses. 

No. 39: Mississippi State

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Chris Graythen/Getty Images

With an 8-3 record heading into their game against rival Ole Miss, Dan Mullen and the Bulldogs were one win away from putting an exclamation point on a solid year. The season came to end on a bad note as they lost to the Rebels.

This loss was Mullen's first in this rivalry, something he vowed would never happen. 

No. 38: Ball State

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While it will not be heading to the MAC title game, Ball State has a lot to be happy about as the Cardinals just finished up a 9-3 season.

With teams like Kent State and Northern Illinois stepping up this year, it will be interesting to see if Ball State can keep things rolling into next year in what is now a loaded Mid-American Conference.

No. 37: Arizona

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A 7-5 record and a loss to Arizona State to end the year was not what fans had in mind when Rich Rodriguez took over the Wildcats program.

Throughout the year, the Wildcats have had one of the nation's worst defenses but one of the best offenses, a trait that has followed Rodriguez from Michigan. 

No. 36: Cincinnati

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Joe Robbins/Getty Images

The entire Big East is in a holding pattern until it sees what Rutgers does against Louisville this coming week. 

Cincinnati has had a strong season, currently 8-3, and while it's seemingly out of the conference title race, a win over Connecticut would give it a nine-win season and a solid end to the year. 

No. 35: USC

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Jeff Gross/Getty Images

Coming into this season, USC had hopes of winning the Pac-12 title and heading to the national title game. What happened this year was far from those hopes. 

After already being out of the Pac-12 and national title races, USC lost Matt Barkley for its game against Notre Dame and could not slow down the Irish. 

No. 34: Arkansas State

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For Arkansas State, everything comes down to this coming week as it holds a tie for the Sun Belt lead and will face the team it's tied with, Middle Tennessee State

With a lot riding on this week's game, the Red Wolves need a solid performance from their offense if they want to wrap up a conference title. 

No. 33: Fresno State

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The Mountain West Conference has featured some strong teams this year, and one of those teams is Fresno State. The Bulldogs are 9-3 and were able to finish strong with a five-game winning streak. 

No. 32: San Diego State

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Early on in 2012, it looked like San Diego State would struggle, but quickly the Aztecs (9-3) got things turned around. 

To finish the year, San Diego State won seven straight games and did so with a strong effort from both sides of the ball. 

No. 31: Vanderbilt

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Vanderbilt truly found a way to get its season turned around. Midway through the year, the Commodores were 2-4. After that midway point, they turned things around and managed to rattle off six straight wins and finish with a strong 8-4 record. 

No. 30: Rutgers

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With things as complicated as ever in the Big East, Rutgers got upset this past week by Pittsburgh 27-6.

Throughout the year, the Scarlet Knights have leaned on their defense and will need them to step back up this week against Louisville. 

No. 29: Penn State

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After all of the offseason distractions and transfers, the Penn State Nittany Lions still found a way to put together an eight-win season. 

Much like last year, Penn State lived and died with its defense, but ultimately the lack of depth hurt this team all year long. 

No. 28: TCU

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While 7-4 may not seem that great, in their first season in the Big 12 the Horned Frogs have shown that they can compete but will need to make vast improvements in the offseason if they want Big 12 glory.

They earned a nice win over Texas last week and have a new challenge this weekend as Oklahoma comes to town. 

No. 27: Louisville

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After a 9-0 start to the year, the wheels have come falling off for the Louisville Cardinals. In consecutive weeks, the Cardinals have lost conference games, and this past week's loss hurts as they dropped an overtime game to Connecticut. 

No. 26: Michigan

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Going into the game, Michigan knew that it could not win its division because Nebraska had won the day before. While this may have been true, the Wolverines rarely need a motive to want to beat Ohio State.

While the game was close at half, it was clear that the Buckeyes made good halftime adjustments and kept the Wolverines at bay in the second half. 

No. 25: San Jose State

PALO ALTO, CA - AUGUST 31: David Fales #10 of San Jose State University drops back to pass against Stanford University in the first quarter during an NCAA football game at Stanford Stadium on August 31, 2012 in Palo Alto, California. (Photo by Thearon W.
Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

While it may have come up short of a WAC title, 10-2 is a great season for San Jose State. With the success that the Spartans had this year, they will certainly be able to build off of this and hopefully remain in conference contention for years to come.

No. 24: Boise State

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With still a game remaining, the Broncos may be having a down year but still have a shot at a 10-win season if they can earn a win over Nevada in the final week of the regular season.

The key this season has been the offense. When the Broncos get some help from their offense, the defense has been more than good enough to deliver a win.

No. 23: Oklahoma State

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Oklahoma State (7-4) suffered a tough loss this past weekend. With a lead late in the game, the Cowboys gave up a game-tying touchdown with less than 10 seconds remaining. 

To make things worse, the Cowboys only managed a field goal in overtime and lost when the Sooners put the ball in the end zone. 

No. 22: Texas

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Despite its loss to TCU this past weekend, Texas has still had an impressive season, and it has a chance to play spoiler this week against Kansas State.

Oklahoma will be rooting for Texas this week because if the Longhorns beat the Wildcats, the Sooners would win the conference with a win against TCU.

No. 21: Northwestern

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Not many people saw this coming, especially after the loss of Dan Persa, but with their win this past week the Wildcats finished the season with nine wins.

Now that the regular season is over, it will be interesting to see whether Northwestern can finally bring its bowl-win drought to an end. 

No. 20: Utah State

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After its huge win over Louisiana Tech, Utah State wrapped up the WAC title this past weekend with a win over Idaho.

While the offense has performed well, the Aggies defense was the difference this year, as they went 10-2. 

No. 19: Kent State

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Kent State is on its way to the MAC title game, but before heading there it turned in an impressive performance against Ohio, holding the Bobcats to only six points.

If the Golden Flashes hope to have the same kind of success against Northern Illinois, then their defense must play even better than it did this past week. 

No. 18: Northern Illinois

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After an 11-1 season, the Northern Illinois Huskies are heading back to the MAC title game, and this year they will be taking on Kent State.

The Huskies offense has been flying, so as long as they can continue to get a solid effort out of their defense, the Huskies should be fine. 

No. 17: Oregon State

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While the start of the season was strong for Oregon State, the way that it finished was not. This past week, the Beavers lost their fifth straight Civil War to Oregon.

The Beavers cannot figure out how to slow down the Ducks offense. 

No. 16: UCLA

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Not sure if the decision weighed on their mind, but after an Oregon win on Saturday, the Bruins knew a win would mean a trip to Autzen while a loss would result in a rematch with Stanford.

Either way, the Bruins were dominated at home by the Cardinal and will now see them again on Friday for the Pac-12 title. 

No. 15: Clemson

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Clemson fell short of both of its goals this year, including another ACC title and shot at the national title. A loss to South Carolina was not the way it wanted to finish the season up. 

No. 14: Nebraska

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It may not have been pretty, but the Cornhuskers were able to take down Iowa and punch their ticket to the Big Ten title game.

Down the stretch, Nebraska played well and showed that it had the ability to close out some close games. 

No. 13: Florida State

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Florida State had a 20-13 lead heading into the fourth quarter, but the wheels fell off as Florida scored 24 unanswered points and knocked out EJ Manuel in the process.

After the 37-26 loss, the Seminoles will still be heading to the ACC title game. 

No. 12: Oklahoma

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Oklahoma was able to come back late in the game this past week and earn a victory over rival Oklahoma State. The game went to overtime, but the Sooners were able to score a touchdown after the Cowboys put up a field goal.

The season comes to an end this week when the Sooners take on TCU with a shot at a conference title still alive. 

No. 11: South Carolina

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After back-to-back losses to LSU and Florida in the middle of the season, South Carolina bounced back with four straight wins.

This past weekend, the Gamecocks were able to contain Clemson and held them to 17 points. The effort helped them finish with a 10-win season. 

No. 10: Texas A&M

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No team finished the year stronger than Texas A&M, and the win this past weekend will give the team plenty of momentum as it heads into its bowl game this year.

As teams begin to prepare for the bowl season, Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel may be preparing a speech for a prestigious trophy of his own. 

No. 9: LSU

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Despite how close its game was against Arkansas, LSU came away with the win and finished the season strong.

Coming into the year, LSU had aspirations of repeating as SEC champions but came up short due to a home loss to Alabama. 

No. 8: Stanford

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After a huge win on the road over Oregon, Stanford remained focused and finished the job by beating UCLA on the road to clinch the Pac-12 North title. 

With the win, Stanford will face UCLA again this week for the Pac-12 title, but this time it will be at Stanford Stadium.

No. 7: Kansas State

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With Oklahoma's win over Oklahoma State this past weekend, the Wildcats know that they need to take care of business this week against Texas.

After a strong season, the Wildcats need to make sure they finish just as strong or this season will have been for nothing. 

No. 6: Ohio State

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Despite the sanctions that will keep them out of postseason play, Ohio State ended the season with a 12-0 record and sent a message to the Big Ten for next year.

After one great season with the Buckeyes, it is clear that Urban Meyer is the right choice and will have the Buckeyes in the thick of things next year. 

No. 5: Florida

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Florida continues to climb the rankings, and with its win over Florida State to end the year, the Gators are in a great position despite not playing in the SEC title game.

While being on the outside looking in, the Gators will be playing in a BCS game. 

No. 4: Georgia

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The Bulldogs made sure that they were not looking ahead to the SEC title game and took care of their game against Georgia Tech.

Now that the regular season is out of the way, the Bulldogs also have a shot of going to the national title game but will need to take down the Tide for the SEC title. 

No. 3: Oregon

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After their stunning loss to Stanford, the Ducks returned to their scoring ways by rolling over Oregon State to win their fifth straight game in the rivalry. 

With the win, Oregon is still left out of the Pac-12 title game but will likely still be heading to its fourth straight BCS bowl game. 

No. 2: Alabama

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Alabama got ready for the SEC title game by putting a beating on rival Auburn in the Iron Bowl. With the win, the Tide will head to the SEC title game on a high note and are a win over Georgia away from heading back to the national championship game. 

No. 1: Notre Dame

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Notre Dame completed the dream regular season by going on the road and taking down USC. The defense has been spectacular this year, and now the Irish will turn their focus to the national championship and await their opponent. 

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