College Football Rankings: B/R's Top 25 After Week 15
So much for those assumptions that the final week of the 2020 college football regular season would be a boring one.
Only two of the CFP Top 8 teams were in action, and they were both heavy favorites. No. 1 Alabama handled its business in a 52-3 thrashing of Arkansas, but No. 6 Florida suffered a shocking 37-34 loss at home against LSU. The Gators amassed more than 600 yards of total offense, but a preposterous interception, a pick-six and a drive-saving penalty on a Florida defender for throwing an LSU shoe paced the defending national champions to the upset.
The Gators will still play in the SEC Championship Game and perhaps would sneak into the College Football Playoff if they were to knock off Alabama in that matchup. This result adds a whole new layer to that discussion, though.
Elsewhere, CFP No. 10 Miami got destroyed by North Carolina, No. 21 Colorado suffered its first loss of the year, and both No. 13 Coastal Carolina and No. 15 USC narrowly avoided their first losses in high-scoring affairs.
Oh, and because it's December, there was all sorts of weather. Several games were played in the snow. The second half of LSU-Florida was played in such thick fog the announcers couldn't even tell what was happening.
All in all, it turned into quite the entertaining Saturday.
What did it do to the rankings, though?
Panelists for this top 25 are B/R experts David Kenyon, Kerry Miller, Joel Reuter and Brad Shepard. Each panel member submitted a ballot, with a first-place vote counting for 25 points, followed by 24 points for second, 23 for third, etc.
B/R Post-Week 15 Top 25
1. Alabama (Last Week: 1)
2. Notre Dame (2)
3. Ohio State (3)
4. Clemson (4)
5. Cincinnati (5)
6. Texas A&M (7)
7. Coastal Carolina (8)
8. Indiana (9)
9. Florida (6)
10 (tie). Iowa State (11)
10 (tie). Oklahoma (12)
12. Georgia (15)
13. Northwestern (13)
14. USC (17)
15. Louisiana (14)
16. BYU (16)
17. North Carolina (22)
18. Miami (9)
19. Tulsa (18)
20. San Jose State (25)
21 (tie). Buffalo (21)
21 (tie). Iowa (23)
23. Liberty (20)
24 (tie). Oklahoma State (NR)
24 (tie). Marshall (25)
Others receiving votes: NC State, Auburn, Texas
Who's Hot: Iowa Hawkeyes
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Never would have guessed I'd be asking this question when Iowa started its eight-game season with back-to-back losses to Purdue and Northwestern, but could the Hawkeyes be headed for a New Year's Six bowl?
Since that disappointing start, the Hawkeyes (ranked 16th by the College Football Playoff selection committee) have reeled off six consecutive wins. And in typical Iowa fashion, they have done so by leaning heavily on a stingy defense. The Hawkeyes have held seven consecutive opponents below 350 total yards and to 21 points or fewer.
They were particularly stout in a late afternoon game full of snow flurries against Wisconsin, limiting the Badgers to 225 total yards in a 28-7 victory.
Iowa's offense started slow, managing just two field goals in the first half. But the defense more than made up for it by holding Wisconsin to just three first downs before the intermission.
Wisconsin's lone scoring drive began as most of its possessions did: three ineffective plays and a punt. On this particular third-quarter punt, though, Charlie Jones muffed the catch and set the Badgers up just 25 yards away from the end zone. They scored a touchdown three plays later.
However, it wasn't a momentum-shifting moment. That was all she wrote for a Wisconsin offense that has now been held to single digits in three consecutive losses.
Iowa is now expected to draw No. 12 Indiana during the Big Ten's final interdivisional weekend, though we'll see if the Hoosiers are able to play next weekend after needing to cancel their game against Purdue this week. As the second-best teams in their respective divisions, that should be the matchup, but we're still waiting on official word from the Big Ten on who is playing whom and where.
If that game does happen, it might be a de facto play-in game for the final spot in the New Year's Six picture.
There are several external variables that will determine exactly where in the Nos. 10-13 range the winner of that game lands in the final rankings. Regardless, what an incredible turnaround for Iowa to become arguably the second-best team in the Big Ten.
Who's Not: Miami Hurricanes
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If you thought last week's 48-0 shellacking of Duke was a sign that CFP No. 10 Miami was gearing up for a strong finish and a trip to a New Year's Six bowl, think again.
To have any hope of playing in a top-tier bowl game this year, the Hurricanes needed to win their regular-season finale at home against CFP No. 17 North Carolina. Instead, they didn't even bother to show up until it was too late in a 62-26 UNC blowout.
The Tar Heels scored touchdowns on each of their first three possessions and got either a touchdown or a field goal each of the first six times they had the ball. Before Miami finally put together its first touchdown drive of the game, UNC led 34-3 and had nearly four times as many yards of total offense (415) as the Hurricanes did (109).
Coming into the game, North Carolina had three players on the verge of reaching 1,000 yards (in their primary category) for the season. Javonte Williams was at 904 rushing yards, Michael Carter had 937 rushing yards, and Dyami Brown was at 932 receiving yards. And, mercy, did they ever get what they needed. Brown hauled in four receptions for 167 yards, while Carter and Williams both had more than 230 rushing yards and multiple touchdowns—becoming the first and second players in the past 20 years to rush for at least 230 yards in a single game against Miami.
That side of things was somewhat to be expected, though. Maybe we didn't realize the Tar Heels would make it look that effortless to move the ball, but North Carolina's offense has been awesome this season, and the Hurricanes did allow more than 40 points against both Clemson and NC State.
The unexpected part was how anemic Miami's offense looked against a UNC defense that had allowed 33.9 points and 448 total yards in its previous eight games against ACC foes. The Hurricanes eventually put some points on the board, much to the chagrin of anyone misguided enough to bet the under in this one. But four punts, a turnover on downs and just one field goal from their first six possessions was a stunning development.
Fun Fact: San Jose State Is Still Undefeated
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Prior to this season, San Jose State had not posted a winning record since 2012.
The Spartans went 5-7 last year, and that was a drastic improvement from going 3-22 over the previous two years combined. But from that 5-7 team, they lost the starting quarterback, the starting running back and the top two linebackers, so they weren't expected to continue on that upward trajectory.
In July—prior to the postponement and subsequent rescheduling of the Mountain West's season—the MWC media pegged SJSU as the fifth-best/second-worst team in the league's West Division.
Lo and behold, look who's still undefeated and facing Boise State for the conference championship.
The Spartans were not ranked in the most recent CFP Top 25 or AP Top 25, but we had them at No. 25 in our rankings in advance of their 30-20 Friday night victory over Nevada.
They dug themselves an early hole when a Nick Starkel interception set the Wolf Pack up to take a 20-7 lead midway through the second quarter. But starting with Nevada missing a chip-shot field goal right before halftime, everything went SJSU's way from there.
The Spartans returned the second-half-opening kickoff for a touchdown, ended a long Nevada drive with a forced fumble at the goal line, turned around and drove 99 yards down the field for a lead-changing touchdown and then got a 69-yard rushing score from Tyler Nevens on their next offensive snap. A 13-point deficit turned into a seven-point lead in less than one quarter, and the Spartans would later add a field goal to ensure a sixth consecutive victory by double digits.
Here's the real fun fact: The last time San Jose State won so much as two consecutive games by any margin was in October 2014. Six consecutive wins by at least 10 points for this program is quite unexpected.
If they're able to beat Boise State in the MWC Championship Game, it will guarantee the Spartans their best winning percentage in program history, regardless of what happens in their bowl game. It would also likely ensure that they spend at least one week ranked 19th or higher in the AP poll for the first time ever.
What to Watch For: Championship Week!
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Next week is going to provide the final piece of a puzzle that, 15 weeks ago, we didn't think was even going to include the Big Ten or Pac-12. (Heck, less than a week ago, we didn't even know if Ohio State was going to be allowed to play for the Big Ten title. What a whirlwind this has all been.)
During the noon ET slate, we'll get the Big Ten championship (Ohio State vs. Northwestern), the Big 12 championship (Iowa State vs. Oklahoma) and the Sun Belt championship (Louisiana at Coastal Carolina).
If Ohio State wins the B1G title, it's almost certainly going to the CFP. Conversely, if the Buckeyes lose, they will almost certainly be left out of the Top Four. That's a massive variable that will be revealed early in the day. But do, please, have three screens going, because all three of those games will be ranked showdowns. That's history for the Sun Belt.
And, actually, you might want a fourth screen for Texas A&M at Tennessee in that early window, because that game could (but most likely will not) throw a late curveball into the playoff picture if the Aggies were to lose.
Mid-afternoon, all eyes will turn to the ACC championship between Notre Dame and Clemson. Most expect the Tigers to avenge their earlier loss to the Fighting Irish now that they have Trevor Lawrence back at quarterback. If they do win it, there's a strong possibility the ACC will send two teams to the playoff. If they don't, the Tigers will presumably miss the playoff for the first time since 2014 while Notre Dame polishes off its second undefeated regular season in three years.
In the evening slate, you've got the massive SEC championship between Alabama and Florida and a mighty fine second-screen option with Tulsa and undefeated Cincinnati battling for the AAC title.
At 10-0, Alabama is a 100 percent lock for the playoff win or lose, and Florida would likely finish in the Top Four if it knocks off the Crimson Tide, despite its shocking loss to LSU. I'm sure we'll discuss that plenty more over the next few days.
Cincinnati is probably only playing to preserve its projected spot in a New Year's Six Bowl, but depending on how things shake out earlier in the day (if Texas A&M, Clemson and Iowa State all lose), perhaps there's a scenario in which the Bearcats become the first Group of Five team to reach the playoff.
In other words, saddle up for a most intriguing Saturday, followed by the final College Football Playoff rankings show on Sunday afternoon.
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