NCAA Football Rankings: Breaking Down Week 13 College Football Playoff Poll

The Week 13 College Football Playoff rankings were released Tuesday, and the Alabama Crimson Tide jumped the undefeated Florida State Seminoles in the Top 25 poll.

There are many college football fans who believe Florida State deserves to be No. 1 overall (currently the top-ranked team in the Associated Press poll), but Alabama’s victory over Mississippi State was enough to make the jump to the top.

Here are the Week 13 College Football Playoff rankings and a breakdown of the top teams in the nation.

Breaking Down the Top Four Teams

After a wild weekend, the College Football Playoff committee made wholesale changes to the top four teams, launching Alabama to No. 1, keeping Oregon and Florida State at No. 2 and No. 3 respectively and sliding Mississippi State to No. 4.

The Crimson Tide beat former top-ranked Mississippi State last week, 25-20, and earned respect in the minds of those in the voting committee. Using one of the nation’s toughest defenses (second overall in points allowed per game), Alabama proved once again that it is a National Championship favorite.

Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban is not looking too far ahead, but still managed to take a subtle jab at his team’s next opponent in an interview with Andrew Gribble of AL.com:

"

This is a good little team that we're playing. They've won seven games this year, so it gives us an opportunity to really try to execute against a team that does a lot of things very similar to some of the teams we're going to play here in the future. The challenge is, it's about us and what we do and how we get better.

"

The good little team Saban is referencing is Western Carolina. While Alabama should run through the Catamounts, the final game of the regular season will be an Iron Bowl battle against Auburn. If Alabama beats Auburn, the SEC Championship Game awaits.

Getting to No. 1 overall was tough. Staying at No. 1 overall will be even tougher.

Another team ranked higher than the undefeated Seminoles in the standings was the Oregon Ducks. With a 9-1 record and wins over Michigan State, UCLA and Utah, Oregon has played their way into the top four and looks to hold onto the spot for the remainder of the season.

Matchups against Colorado and Oregon State set up perfectly for the Ducks, and if the team wins out for the remainder of the regular season, a Pac 12 Championship is almost a foregone conclusion. As long as quarterback Marcus Mariota continues to play well, Oregon will be a serious threat to win the inaugural College Football Playoff.

Finally, coming in at No. 3 is Florida State. Quarterback Jameis Winston and the Seminoles have taken down every team they have played this season, but there have been several come-from-behind wins and inconsistency throughout the year.

With all of that said, Florida State is the defending national champion and has not been defeated this season. There is a case to be made that the Seminoles deserve the top spot in the nation, but the voters don’t agree. The team must win big against Boston College and Florida to make a lasting impression on the College Football Playoff committee.

The fourth team in the rankings in Week 13 is Mississippi State. After a heart-breaking loss to Alabama, the Bulldogs are still one of the best teams in the country, boasting wins over LSU, Texas A&M and Auburn.

Mississippi State has a game against Vanderbilt Saturday and a regular-season finale against the Ole Miss Rebels, and the team will have to earn its spot in the top four over the next two weeks with decisive victories.

The loss to Alabama will be tough to swallow, but as long as the Bulldogs can focus on the next two games, there is little doubt that a one-loss Mississippi State program deserves to be in the top four at the end of the season.

There were many questions about which four teams deserved to be in the Playoff, but the voting committee has found the programs that are the best in the nation. If all four teams win out, these will be the teams that make the Playoff.

*Stats via ESPN.com.

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