Last Word on College Football Top 25 Week 12
While Week 12 didn’t have the seismic activity of Week 11, there was still significant movement among the top teams in the nation. Houston’s demolition of Louisville on Thursday night set the tone for the weekend. Michigan and Ohio State squeezed out another victory. And Florida made their biggest statement of the season shutting down LSU inside the red zone multiple times, including twice from the one-yard line on the last two plays of the game.
San Diego State’s loss to Wyoming opens the door for several Group of Five teams, most notably Navy, to seize the G5 New Year’s Six Bowl selection. And after the Sun Belt had a team ranked for the first time last week, Troy was blown out by Arkansas State. Can they survive that loss and stay in the Top 25? You already know the answer to that.
How did all the activity change our rankings? See below.
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LAST WORD ON COLLEGE FOOTBALL TOP 25 WEEK 12
| Rank
|
Team
|
Points
|
Previous
|
|
1. |
|
400 | 1 | |
| Alabama continues its march towards Atlanta and beyond. After dispatching FCS power Chattanooga, only in-state rival stands between the Crimson Tide and a perfect regular season. Mike Loveall
|
||||
2. |
|
382 | 2 | |
| Poor conditions couldn’t stop the Buckeyes as they escaped East Lansing with a 17-16 win. Freshman Mike Weber had an excellent day, rushing for 111 yards and a touchdown. The Buckeyes will now focus on “The Game” next week against No. 3 Michigan. Rob Gritzer
|
||||
3. |
MICHIGAN (10-1)
|
364 | 4 | |
| The Wolverines got over a slow start against Indiana to cruise to a comfortable victory–in reality, if not on the scoreboard. Next up? The Game, in Columbus. Yesh Ginsburg
|
||||
4. |
|
357 | 5 | |
| Clemson is all in for the playoffs, now it’s just a matter of positioning. That will be determined next week in the Big Ten. A decisive win against USC can pad their stats before heading to Orlando. Justin Gordon
|
||||
5. |
|
326 | 6 | |
| Corey Clement did it again this week, rushing for 112 yards in a 49-20 win. He has become a key part to their offense as the season moves on. Next week, the Badgers wrap up the regular season at home against Minnesota. Rob Gritzer
|
||||
6. |
|
323 | 7 | |
| The Huskies did exactly what they should have done in Week 12, and hammered an overmatched Arizona State team. Next is a visit to the Palouse, where the Apple Cup game will determine the winner of the Pac-12 North. Donald King
|
||||
7. |
|
306 | 8 | |
| The Sooners kept their playoff hopes alive with an impressive 56-28 win against West Virginia. Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon both ran for over 100 yards and Baker Mayfield accounted for four touchdowns. Oklahoma has a bye this week before hosting Oklahoma State on December 3rd. Jason Rhea
|
||||
8. |
|
286 | 9 | |
| It took the Nittany Lions a little over two quarters to find the end zone against a lousy Rutgers team before pulling away 39-0. A similar start next week against Michigan State could derail their trip to the Big 10 Championship Game pending an Ohio State victory over Michigan in The Shoe. Zach Jones
|
||||
9. |
|
249 | 11 | |
| CU put its foot down in the second half to hand Washington State its first conference loss. Utah visits in Week 13 after a surprising loss to Oregon, and the Buffaloes will have a chance to clinch the Pac-12 South at home. Donald King
|
||||
10. |
OKLAHOMA STATE (9-2)
|
227 | 13 | |
| The Cowboys were dominant on both sides of the ball as they dismantled TCU 31-6. The Pokes ran for over 300 yards. The win sets up a Big 12 championship game against the Sooners in Norman on December 3rd. Jason Rhea
|
||||
11. |
|
220 | 3 | |
| Louisville’s College Football Playoff hopes fade away after being dismantled by Houston on Thursday. The Cardinals end their regular season against Kentucky. Jonathan Bailey
|
||||
12. |
|
219 | 10 | |
| With College Gameday in town, the Broncos had plenty of reasons to be excited and motivated to keep their undefeated run going. That’s exactly what they did. Behind a career high 445 yards and four touchdown passes from Zach Terrell, WMU routed Buffalo 38-0 to move to 11-0 on the year. John Bava III
|
||||
13. |
|
209 | 15 | |
| The Trojans keep their late season momentum going in a big win against cross-town rival UCLA. There’s only 19 miles between the campuses, but there’s a much bigger divide between the two programs right now. Mike Loveall
|
||||
14. |
|
175 | 20 | |
| Jim McElwain’s Gators walked into Death Valley and made LSU AD Joe Alleva wear egg on his face as they clinched the SEC East 16-10. Florida is far from perfect but their defense is top notch and the offensive line seemed to figure things out against the Tigers. Zach Jones
|
||||
15. |
|
166 | 17 | |
| The Tigers took advantage of FCS Alabama A&M on a week when starting QB Sean White wasn’t available. Next week is the annual date with Alabama. Can Auburn stand between the Tide and a perfect regular season? Mike Loveall
|
||||
16. |
|
142 | 21 | |
| Florida State had no trouble beating Syracuse 45-14. Dalvin Cook cemented his legacy as one of the best players in FSU’s history by breaking Warrick Dunn’s record for most career rushing yards. Jonathan Bailey
|
||||
17. |
|
128 | NR | |
| The Cougars looked as good against Louisville as they did against Oklahoma in Week 1, handing the CFP hopefuls a program defining loss. But they have losses against Navy and SMU that will keep them off of New Year’s Day. Mike Loveall
|
||||
18. |
|
127 | 22 | |
| The Broncos were down 3-0 early to UNLV Friday night, but touchdown drives on their second and third possessions gave them a 14-3 lead and they cruised to a 42-25 win. Jeremey McNichols carried the ball 31 times for 206 yards and four touchdowns. Boise State remains in a tie for the Mountain West Conference Mountain Division title with Wyoming, and Wyoming owns the head-to-head tiebreak. The Broncos finish the regular season at Air Force. Tony Siracusa
|
||||
19. |
NEBRASKA (9-2)
|
120 | 22 | |
| Ryker Fyfe made his first and what will also be his last home start on Saturday, filling in for Tommy Armstrong. The senior was reliable, throwing for 220 yards and a touchdown as the Huskers dominated Maryland 28-7. They still hold slim hopes to win the Big Ten East but will need help from Wisconsin. John Bava III
|
||||
20. |
|
107 | 11 | |
| West Virginia’s normally stout defense struggled mightily against Oklahoma, surrendering a season-high 56 points. The lone bright spot was RB Justin Crawford, who rushed for 331 yards on 24 carries. Brendan Dzwierzynski
|
||||
21. |
|
55 | 14 | |
| The Utes lost their shot at the Pac 12 South title when Oregon outscored them 20-14 in the fourth quarter for a 30-28 Ducks win. Oregon’s Justin Hebert connected with Darren Carrington on a 17 yard touchdown pass with two seconds left to seal Utah’s fate. The Utes will finish the regular season next weekend at Colorado. Tony Siracusa
|
||||
22. |
|
48 | 25 | |
| The Midshipmen have the inside track for the G5 New Year’s Six bowl berth, but they’ll have to navigate a conference championship against either Temple or South Florida first. And of course Army-Navy looms after selection weekend. Mike Loveall
|
||||
23. |
|
46 | 19 | |
| The Aggies are once again limping towards the end of the season. A short week welcomes LSU — coming off a disappointing loss — to Kyle Field. Can Jake Hubenak get anything going against the Tigers defense? Mike Loveall
|
||||
24. |
|
36 | 16 | |
| The Cougars lost any chance at the Playoffs (what little they had) with a loss to Colorado. But they can still destroy Washington’s dreams and get to the Pac-12 Championship Game with a win in the Apple Bowl next week. Mike Loveall
|
||||
25. |
|
30 | NR | |
| Christian McCaffrey ran for nearly 300 yards, as Stanford handled rival Cal, well, handily. The 8-3 Cardinal concludes its regular season at home against Rice next week. Donald King | ||||
OHIO STATE (10-1)
CLEMSON (10-1)
WISCONSIN (9-2)
WASHINGTON (10-1)
OKLAHOMA (9-2)
PENN STATE (9-2)
COLORADO (9-2) 
LOUISVILLE (9-2)
WESTERN MICHIGAN (11-0)
USC (8-3)
FLORIDA (8-2)
AUBURN (8-3)
FLORIDA STATE (8-3)
HOUSTON (9-2)
BOISE STATE (10-1)
WEST VIRGINIA (8-2)
UTAH (8-3)
NAVY (8-2)
TEXAS A&M (8-3)
WASHINGTON STATE (8-3)
STANFORD (8-3)Others Receiving Votes: Tennessee (28), LSU (25), South Florida (21), Virginia Tech (19), North Carolina (7), Minnesota (7), Pittsburgh (6), Toledo (4), San Diego State (3), Wyoming (2), Arkansas (1).
You can always throw out the records in rivalry games. And as we enter Thanksgiving Week, many of college football’s best rivalries are on the docket. We should give thanks for many things…and college football is definitely one of them.
Previous LWOS Polls:
Preseason Top 25
Week 1 Top 25
Week 2 Top 25
Week 3 Top 25
Week 4 Top 25
Week 5 Top 25
Week 6 Top 25
Week 7 Top 25
Week 8 Top 25
Week 9 Top 25
Week 10 Top 25
Week 11 Top 25
About the poll: Sixteen Last Word on College Football writers submit ballots and points are awarded on a inverse-scale (a first place vote receives 25 points, a 25th-place vote receives 1 point).
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