College Football Playoff Power Rankings: Ranking the 12 Remaining CFP Teams

The first iteration of the 12-team College Football Playoff is sure to be a good one as we get teams from six different conferences (we're counting Notre Dame here) playing for the biggest honor in college football. We know what the committee has said when it comes to ranking these teams, but is that really how they stand?

With so many different automatic qualifiers and bids, it's impossible to say the CFP committe rankings are a true ranking of how good the teams are. So, I'm here to give you my 12-team College Football Playoff power rankings. This is a breakdown of how these teams look today. So, I don't care that Ohio State beat Penn State but is ranked behind them, and so on.

Which teams come in to the postseason looking the best? Which have work to do? Let's dive in.

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College Football National Championship Odds

College Football Playoff Power Rankings

1. Oregon Ducks

• Record: 13-0
• Best Win: vs. Ohio State (32-31)
• Worst Loss: None
• National Championship Odds: +360

Not much to see here. Oregon is the lone unbeaten team in the country and takes a firm stance atop our College Football Playoff power rankings ahead of the first round. Dillon Gabriel is officially a Heisman finalist, and he earned it. Sure, he's older than a handful of NFL QBs, but who are we to judge if he wants to beat up on a bunch of 18-year-olds at age 23 (turning 24 on December 28)? Tez Johnson, Evan Stewart, Traeshon Holden and the rest of the Oregon offense has proven time and time again that they're as close to unstoppable as we'll see this season. Meanwhile, the defense is good enough to get a few stops and that's all they'll need.

2. Georgia Bulldogs

• Record: 11-2
• Best Win: vs. Texas (22-19 OT)
• Worst Loss: @ Ole Miss (28-10)
• National Championship Odds: +500

We're only at No. 2 on this list and I already find myself in a bind. If Carson Beck is healthy, this is an easy choice. Georgia played the hardest schedule in the nation and came out with just two losses and won the SEC. However, I happen to think that Beck is done for the season and we're going to see a heavy dose of Gunner Stockton. Stockton is not as good as Beck, so let's get that out of the way. However, we saw him come into the SEC Championship at halftime, trailing 6-3, and lead Georgia to a win over No. 2 Texas. That performance was enough for me to give Georgia the second spot in the power rankings.

3. Penn State Nittany Lions

• Record: 11-2
• Best Win: vs. Illinois (19-9)
• Worst Loss: vs. Ohio State (20-13)
• National Championship Odds: +650

It's tough to put Penn State this high when they really haven't beaten a good team this season, but that's also the case for a lot of teams in the College Football Playoff, so I'm not too hung up on it. I fully expected Oregon to steamroll Penn State this past week and that wasn't the case at all. Drew Allar looked good enough to hang with the big dogs and between Tyler Warren, Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton, they're as good as any team between the hashes. On top of that, Abdul Carter and the guys up front on that Penn State defense can get after the passer. My biggest concern with Penn State is that they don't have the playmakers needed on the outside to hang with a team like Oregon down the stretch. However, neither does a team like Notre Dame.

4. Texas Longhorns

• Record: 11-2
• Best Win: @ Texas A&M (17-7)
• Worst Loss: vs. Georgia (30-15)
• National Championship Odds: +360

Like Penn State, Texas doesn't have a real signature win this season. However, I've seen them play Georgia twice now and while I think the Dawgs are clearly better, the Longhorns have proven they belong in the same conversation. My biggest question mark for Texas comes at the QB position. What is supposed to be the strength of this team, with Quinn Ewers under center, has left me wondering just how far he can actually take them. Part of me thinks Texas would be better with Arch Manning taking snaps because he has the threat of making plays with his feet. Still, Texas was a field goal away from winning the SEC and is a top-five team in the country for a reason.

5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

• Record: 11-1
• Best Win: @ Texas A&M (23-13)
• Worst Loss: vs. Northern Illinois (16-14)
• National Championship Odds: +900

Ultimately, I haven't seen Notre Dame against enough good teams to put them any higher than No. 5 on the College Football Playoff power rankings. Their best win comes against Texas A&M and they have the worst loss of anyone in the entire CFP, falling at home to Northern Illinois. Like Texas and Penn State, they don't have a real signature win, but the difference is Texas and Penn State have played other CFP teams. Notre Dame has played no one and didn't win a conference title. Having said all that, they have looked strong lately, including a decisive win over a previously unbeaten Army team. Riley Leonard can be a difference maker with his feet and the defense is solid in South Bend.

6. Tennessee Volunteers

• Record: 10-2
• Best Win: vs. Alabama (24-17)
• Worst Loss: @ Arkansas (24-17)
• National Championship Odds: +2500

Tennessee is one of the last teams I would want to play in the CFP because of the two things they do well. The Vols get after the passer and they run the ball. When you do those two things effectively, you can beat anyone. Running back Dylan Sampson has been elite for the Vols and I think between him and Nico Iamaleava, they have just enough offensive firepower to get it done. The thing I think separates them from the field is their defensive front. The Vols have a 10-or-11-player rotation up front that gives teams fits, let by James Pearce Jr. Not only do I think they can upset Ohio State in the first round, but I like their chances to be competitive against Oregon in a potential quarterfinal matchup as well.

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7. Ohio State Buckeyes

• Record: 10-2
• Best Win: @ Penn State (20-13)
• Worst Loss: vs. Michigan (13-10)
• National Championship Odds: +525

About six weeks ago I was convinced Ohio State was the best team in the country. Sure, they lost to Oregon, but it was by a point on the road in a game they could have, and likely should have, won. Now, I feel like the No. 7 spot on our power rankings is generous. The biggest issue for Ohio State is the injuries on their offensive line. As it stands now, they can't create running space for Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson and they can't protect the passer. This is the best group of skill position players in the entire country and they have no way to score. I also happen to think Chip Kelly is doing one of the worst jobs in college football this season as OSU's offensive coordinator, and that's a huge part of why the Buckeyes can't find the end zone. The good news is they may have the best defense in the country, but that doesn't matter when you can't protect your own QB.

8. Arizona State Sun Devils

• Record: 11-2
• Best Win: vs. BYU (28-23)
• Worst Loss: @ Cincinnati (24-14)
• National Championship Odds: +6000

I wanted to have Arizona State higher on this list but I just can't have them ahead of any of the teams in the 1-7 spots. Arizona State may be one of the hottest teams in the country right now after wins over BYU, Kansas State and Iowa State. The problem is I don't think they have the offensive firepower to hang with the more talented teams. Cam Skattebo is a beast, but what happens when they get behind in the first half and have to throw the ball? The injury to Jordyn Tyson makes this a completely one-dimensional offense. Good for them for earning a first-round bye by winning the Big 12, but a quarterfinal showdown with Texas or Clemson is likely too much for the Sun Devils to handle.

9. Indiana Hoosiers

• Record: 11-1
• Best Win: vs. Michigan (20-15)
• Worst Loss: @ Ohio State (38-15)
• National Championship Odds: +4500

The good news for Indiana is that not playing on championship weekend and not beating a ranked team all year didn't come back to bite them. The bad news is they drew a first-round showdown with Notre Dame to kick off the College Football Playoff. Indiana is limited with what they can do on offense against good teams. We saw against Ohio State how the Buckeyes essentially took away their pass game completely and left them with two choices; run the ball for 4 yards a carry or punt. That disappointing showing in Columbus is why I have them as the No. 9 team in our power rankings. IU's defense is good enough and they can score in bunches against bad defenses, but when they faced teams like Ohio State or Michigan, that offense becomes extremely one-dimensional.

10. SMU Mustangs

• Record: 11-2
• Best Win: @ Louisville (34-27)
• Worst Loss: vs BYU (18-15)
• National Championship Odds: +4500

If not for a 56-yard field goal as time expired, we may be talking about an ACC-champion SMU team that holds a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff. Unfortunately for the Mustangs, their comeback effort against Clemson wasn't enough in the end. QB Kevin Jennings and RB Brashard Smith give SMU a powerful punch in the ground game, but that defense looked extremely suspect in the ACC Championship, especially in the first half. The good news is they showed us they can play from behind and chase down a team like Clemson. But that's an extremely average Clemson team that shouldn't be hanging 24 points on anyone in the first half.

11. Boise State Broncos

• Record: 12-1
• Best Win: vs. UNLV (21-7)
• Worst Loss: @ Oregon (37-34)
• National Championship Odds: +6500

Two things are true about this Boise State team. One, they have the best player in the College Football Playoff in Ashton Jeanty. Two, they aren't a very good football team. Early in the season, Boise State got their only true test against Oregon. Sure, they lost. But, it was an impressive 37-34 loss in a game they could have easily won. Having said that, if that game was played today, Oregon would likely win by three TDs. Jeanty is no longer catching teams by surprise. Opponents are gameplanning around him and while he's still putting up big yardage, it's coming on insane usage rates. If Boise is going to win against good teams they're going to have to throw the ball, something they've yet to prove they can do. A potential quarterfinal matchup against Penn State is a nightmare for the Broncos and the Penn State front seven will dominate the Boise State OL in a blowout.

12. Clemson Tigers

• Record: 10-3
• Best Win: vs. SMU (34-31)
• Worst Loss: vs. Louisville (33-21)
• National Championship Odds: +6000

If I had my way, we'd be able to vote Clemson out of the College Football Playoff despite them winning the ACC. But, they don't ask me these things so we're stuck watching them play postseason football despite three losses while playing in a bad conference. The issue with Clemson is the same as Indiana and Boise State. The Tigers can't throw the ball well enough to hang with the uber-talented teams in the country. Now, it's funny to not include Clemson in that group of "uber-talented" teams, but Dabo Swinney has elected to pretend the transfer portal doesn't exist, so here we are. The good news for Clemson is that their defense is good enough to hang around and their first-round matchup with Texas is a good one for them. The bad news is they've shown us all season that they are too inconsistent to be considered an elite team.