UPROXX Sports College Football Power Rankings, Week 12: Surging Spartans Crack The Top 4

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Thanksgiving Week is finally here. And with it brings a cornucopia (see what I did there?) of storylines and enticing games beyond the buffet of delicious food we’re all about to stuff ourselves silly with. The nice thing about the Playoff is while these rivalry games still matter, we also have that additional week of Championship games where teams continue to jockey for position and compare resumés well into next Saturday evening.

There are still 10 or so teams who could make the case they belong in the Playoff right now. This is a big deal, and is very fun. And football is better when it is fun, especially this deep into the season.

Here are my power rankings. They’re not meant to resemble the committee’s. They aren’t the same as the AP Poll. They’re my opinion, which means they’re subjective, likely wrong, and different from your opinion. I’m at peace with that, and I hope you will be too.

1. Clemson (11-0)

Last week: 1
Last game: Beat Wake Forest, 33-13
Next up: Saturday at South Carolina

The Florida State game was really the denouement of the Clemson season. And the last few weeks have been minor beats that fade to black making you think it’s the end of the season before another scene pops up and fades to black again like the end of The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King. We already know what happens. Making us think there’s a huge turn before that ACC title game seems a little unfair.

2. Alabama (10-1)

Last week: 3
Last game: Beat Charleston Southern, 56-6
Next up: Saturday at Auburn

That Charleston Southern game sure was riveting and exciting. I’m proud of Alabama for persevering over a Top 10 opponent.

Now they can go into the Iron Bowl with some confidence, which Bama was sorely lacking to this point.

3. Notre Dame (10-1)

Last week: 4
Last game: Beat Boston College, 19-16
Next up: Saturday at Stanford

The Fenway ghosts almost got to Notre Dame, as Boston College scored 13 points in the fourth quarter to almost come back and win (and for Boston College this season, 13 points in a quarter is the equivalent of Baylor scoring about 80.) But the Fighting Irish keep their Playoff hopes alive. They can really add to their case with a road win over Stanford, but there’s still the chance they’re on the outside looking in depending on what the other teams below them do this weekend (and in a possible conference title game.)

4. Michigan State (10-1)

Last week: 9
Last game: Beat Ohio State, 17-14
Next up: Saturday vs. Penn State

I’m giving Sparty a deserved bump by going into Ohio Stadium with a backup quarterback and physically dominating the Buckeyes on both sides of the ball. If not for a couple turnovers, Michigan State wouldn’t have even needed the late-game heroics (and maybe the postgame best quote of all time) from Michael Geiger.

5. Iowa (11-0)

Last week: 5
Last game: Beat Purdue, 40-20
Next up: Friday at Nebraska

Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no. It’s not bad enough Iowa is playing on Friday at Nebraska, in a game for all the corn where the other team is fighting for bowl eligibility. But now the Hawkeyes have to deal with this?

6. Oklahoma (10-1)

Last week: 7
Last game: Beat TCU, 30-29
Next up: Saturday at Oklahoma State

This is it for Oklahoma. This is the Sooners’ Big 12 Championship Game, and the best chance for the Big 12 to get a team in the Playoff or risk being shut out for the second year in a row. The Sooners almost let TCU come back on them, but they closed it out. And now they’ve got that huge game in Stillwater to go. Make a Thanksgiving leftovers sandwich and find a comfy spot on the couch. This one’s going to be good.

7. Baylor (9-1)

Last week: 11
Last game: Beat Oklahoma State, 45-35
Next up: Friday at TCU

What a response by the Bears after that disappointing loss to Oklahoma. Going on the road down to its third quarterback (and bonus Serious College Football Fan points to you if you knew Chris Johnson was Baylor’s third stringer heading into the year), Baylor dug deep and shocked the Pokes. The Bears have two games left to play and can earn some style points by beating TCU in Fort Worth and piling it on Texas during Championship Week.

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8. Florida (10-1)

Last week: 8
Last game: Beat Florida Atlantic, 20-14 (OT)
Next up: Saturday vs. Florida State

Honestly I’m shocked Florida was able to beat the Owls. The Gators were technically facing the entire Atlantic coast of Florida, and do you know how long that coastline really is? It takes guts and moxie to do what Florida did, and we shouldn’t be discounting that.

9. UNC (10-1)

Last week: 12
Last game: Beat Virginia Tech, 30-27 (OT)
Next up: Saturday at N.C. State

The Tar Heels got up early on Virginia Tech and then the Hokies bounced back and almost won one in Blacksburg for their legendary head coach in his final home game. But UNC engineered a beautiful scoring drive in overtime (even if it maybe looked like the winning touchdown was bobbled a bit on replay) to seal it. Now the Heels have N.C. State in a game that they desperately need to keep their slim Playoff hopes alive. Yes, UNC has two games against FCS teams. Yes, the Tar Heels have that opening week loss to South Carolina weighing them down. But if they are 12-1 with a win over Clemson to show for it, depending on what other teams do, that just might be enough to get them in the Top 4.

10. Ohio State (10-1)

Last week: 2
Last game: Lost to Michigan State, 17-14
Next up: Saturday at Michigan

Ohio State’s inconsistency on offense finally caught up to it against the Spartans. Blame the playcalling (Ezekiel Elliott already did). Blame the carousel of quarterbacks. Blame the offensive line. Blame it on the rain.

There’s plenty of blame to go around. Now Ohio State needs help to even get in the Big Ten title game – the Buckeyes have to beat Michigan in Ann Arbor and need the Spartans to lose to Penn State this weekend. Tall order, but hey this is college football we’re talking about here.

11. Oklahoma State (10-1)

Last week: 6
Last game: Lost to Baylor, 45-35
Next up: Saturday vs. Oklahoma

The Pokes’ luck ran out. But what a run it was. With win after win after win in dire circumstances. The Cowboys still have a shot at winning the Big 12, and things are a bit complicated. Let’s go to the chart.

12. Navy (9-1)

Last week: 14
Last game: Beat Tulsa, 44-21
Next up: Friday at Houston

The Midshipmen only had 462 rushing yards against Tulsa. The grind of the season must be really getting to them.

13. Michigan (9-2)

Last week: 16
Last game: Beat Penn State, 28-16
Next up: Saturday vs. Ohio State

The Wolverines can still make the Big Ten Championship game too. But wow, things are a lot more complicated than they would have been if Ohio State had beaten Michigan State. Michigan still has to beat the Buckeyes (which would ensure a 10-win season for Jim Harbaugh in his first year back in Ann Arbor), but it also needs the Spartans to drop this weekend’s game to Penn State. Hey, it could happen.

14. Florida State (9-2)

Last week: 17
Last game: Beat Chattanooga, 52-13
Next up: Saturday at Florida

The Gators sure look beatable after needing overtime to get past Florida Atlantic, and in rivalry games, these sorts of things tend to get blown up to extreme proportions. These two teams really, really don’t like each other. And this means I’m looking forward to this one even more than most of the other games this weekend. We have Dalvin Cook making his last Heisman push, and also this:

15. Oregon (8-3)

Last week: 19
Last game: Beat USC, 48-28
Next up: Friday vs. Oregon State

The Ducks are good again. Things are back to normal.

(No his name is not The Duck, it’s Puddles. You don’t get to pick your own nickname.)

16. TCU (9-2)

Last week: 13
Last game: Lost to Oklahoma, 30-29
Next up: Friday vs. Baylor

Props to the Frogs for playing their everliving hearts out against Oklahoma and almost making one of the most improbable comebacks of the season. Had that two-point conversion been successful you’re looking at the game of the year, hands down. Instead TCU has another loss, and injuries have officially spoiled what was once a really promising season.

I am looking forward to Bram Kohlhausen’s Dracula hitting theaters in the summer of 2026.

17. Stanford (9-2)

Last week: 20
Last game: Beat California, 35-22
Next up: Saturday vs. Notre Dame

The Cardinal can still make a mess of the Playoff (although not in the way they probably wanted just a few weeks ago) by beating Notre Dame. So #TeamChaos should be rooting for that result. And all eyes are (finally) on Christian McCaffrey in a game that’s being played before a lot of Heisman voters’ bedtimes for once.

18. Northwestern (9-2)

Last week: 23
Last game: Beat Wisconsin, 13-7
Next up: Saturday at Illinois

I’ve made this point a couple times this season, but Northwestern has had a pretty solid season overall. The Wildcats’ two losses are to Michigan and Iowa (with a combined 20 wins right now), and they have wins over Stanford, Duke, Penn State and Wisconsin. They’re not making a New Year’s Six bowl or anything, but after the past few seasons, they really have proven the rollercoaster is over and that they’re bolstering the depth of the Big Ten as a whole.

19. Houston (10-1)

Last week: 10
Last game: Lost to UConn, 20-17
Next up: Friday vs. Navy

You could almost see a letdown coming after the comeback win over Memphis. Heading into a road game at UConn, playing through some injuries, against a team that likes to muck things up and force you to play a more physical game, blocking the way of a game for that side of the conference against Navy. Luckily for Houston, the Group of Five’s prestige spot is still in play and the Coogs are two wins away from earning it – beat the Midshipmen and win the AAC title.

20. Washington State (8-3)

Last week: 24
Last game: Beat Colorado, 27-3
Next up: Friday at Washington

We’re living in a world where Washington State could conceivably win double-digit games. When was the last time that happened? Glad you asked! That would be the 2002 season under then-coach Mike Price when the Cougars lost to Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl.

21. Ole Miss (8-3)

Last week: NR
Last game: Beat LSU, 38-17
Next up: Saturday at Mississippi State

The Rebels handed LSU its third straight loss and now there’s all kinds of talk about Les Miles being gone after the season. Cool. For Ole Miss, though, it’s Egg Bowl time. #EGG

22. Toledo (9-1)

Last week: NR
Last game: Beat Bowling Green, 44-28
Next up: Friday vs. Western Michigan

The Rockets can still get to Detroit if Ohio beats Northern Illinois on Tuesday night. (Toledo would also have to beat Western Michigan on Friday.) That would require some serious MACtion oddities, seeing as the Huskies like it when the weather gets cold.

23. UCLA (8-3)

Last week: NR
Last game: Beat Utah, 17-9
Next up: Saturday at USC

UCLA is back in the Top 25 again. On again, off again, will they, won’t they. I still wonder how good the Bruins would have been at full strength all season long. But that’s another of those things I’ll always wonder about, like what a second season of Freaks & Geeks would have been like.

24. Temple (9-2)

Last week: NR
Last game: Beat Memphis, 31-12
Next up: Saturday vs. UConn

The Owls really looked impressive in their win over the Tigers. Animals that can fly really do have an advantage over land animals. They can’t afford to slip up this weekend against a Huskies team that just beat Houston; South Florida has the tiebreaker in the East and is set to play 0-11 UCF, so if Temple were to lose, Willie Taggart’s team would win the East division of the AAC.

25. Utah (8-3)

Last week: 15
Last game: Lost to UCLA, 17-9
Next up: Saturday vs. Colorado

I haven’t seen a first half start, so promisingly and a second half be so sour and painful since the first time I watched Requiem For A Dream. I just hope Travis Wilson hasn’t started imagining the refrigerator attacking him at this point.

Next Five: Mississippi State, Air Force, LSU, Western Kentucky, Creed (Coming To Theaters Nov. 25).

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