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247sports.com
Do you think Dabo Swinney took it personal last week after his football team was ranked No. 5 in the first Playoff rankings?
You bet he did.
After
voicing his displeasure, Swinney's Tigers took it out on N.C. State over the weekend, a 55-10 blitzing of the Wolfpack that included throwing from the goal line in the final moments.
Eye test and winning pretty matters and the defending national champions have destroyed every team they've faced over the past month since a narrow win at North Carolina on Sept. 28 brought forth concern among analysts.
"Good teams should get better. And I think you've seen that with our team," Swinney said on Saturday night. "We've gotten better and better and better. We are that point in the season where yeah, we should be at our best right now. Our best shouldn't have been in September. I mean, right now we should all be at our best. And I that that we've played our best football the last few weeks so hopefully we can continue to build on that."
Clemson's 25th straight win didn't have the same seismic feel of LSU's over Alabama or Minnesota's "upset" of Penn State, but it'll still have an effect on Tuesday's latest Playoff Top 25.
Here's our best guess at Tuesday night's College Football Playoff rankings before the selection committee's second reveal:
25. Wake Forest
24. Texas
23. Iowa
22. Kansas State
21. Navy
20. Oklahoma State
19. SMU
18. Boise State
17. Memphis
16. Cincinnati
The word: Will the selection committee keep Wake Forest in the Top 25 this week despite the loss at Virginia Tech to set up a nationally-ranked matchup vs. Clemson? Possibly. The crazier thing is this ā the Tigers are 32.5-point favorites against a team many believe is the second-best in the ACC. Shows you how lopsided that league is near the top, right? Memphis and Cincinnati continue to creep toward the New Year's Six at Nos. 17 and 16, respectively, in this projection. It'll be a fun conference title race to watch over the final three weekends of the regular season.
15. Notre Dame
14. Michigan
13. Wisconsin
12. Auburn
11. Florida
10. Oklahoma
9. Baylor
The word: These teams are still in the Playoff mix and are very much in play for New Year's Six appearances with strong finishes in November and beyond.
Our updated bowl projections at 247Sports reflect selection committee rankings, since those are used during the pairings process among both semifinal matchups, the Orange, Rose, Cotton and Sugar. Some of those games still have conference tie-ins with automatic bids to champions, while others involve at-large selections. Over the past four seasons, 11 of 20 teams inside the initial Top 4 have eventually reached the Playoff, but ironically, no No. 3 team in the first poll has played in a semifinal game ā sorry, Alabama. Baylor will rise this week after staying unbeaten at TCU.
8. MINNESOTA GOPHERS (9-0)
Why they're here: No team in College Football Playoff history has ever risen more than six spots in any poll ... until now. Expect P.J. Fleck's team to make a historic jump on Tuesday night into the Top 10, perhaps at No. 6 (highest potentially). We'll slot them at No. 8 here considering there's two one-loss Pac-12 teams who were idle and did nothing to damage their case in previous slots. Minnesota put the Big Ten on alert against Penn State behind a 300-yard game from Tanner Morgan and big plays all around in the passing game. Minnesota's strength of schedule was weak coming, but now the Gophers have a win worth hanging their hat on.
7. UTAH UTES (8-1)
Why they're here: The Utes have won five straight since a tough loss at USC, showing off defensively since the Trojans landed several big-play punches earlier this season. Saturday's comeback win at Washington keeps Kyle Whittingham's team in the Playoff picture and more importantly for the moment, the Pac-12 title race. If Utah wins out and gets to that game with a potential matchup vs. Oregon, that could be another quality win for this group. It'll be interesting to see how Tyler Huntley and this team finishes and how far they'll have to jump to get to the final four as a darkhorse down the stretch.
6. OREGON DUCKS (8-1)
Why they're here: Arguably the hottest team in college football, Oregon has won eight straight games since losing the season opener in the final minute to Auburn on a neutral field and good news for the Ducks is the Tigers are still ranked inside the Top 15. With Saturday's emphatic win at USC and the previous week's comeback victory at Washington, Oregon is flexing its muscles at the right time this season. Senior quarterback Justin Herbert gives the Ducks a chance against anyone and the Pac 12's title hopes, once buried two months ago, have come back to life in grand fashion down the stretch.
5. GEORGIA BULLDOGS (8-1)
Why they're here: With one of the nation's most dominant defenses following their third shutout of the season, could the Bulldogs squeak into the Top 4 this week over Alabama? The wins are better than the Crimson Tide's best, but the loss to South Carolina (4-6) remains the nation's worst for a one-loss team. Playoff chair Rob Mullens said Georgia's body of work ā notably the victories over Notre Dame and Florida ā canceled out the upset during last week's first rankings explanation. The journey to the final four is cut and dry for Kirby Smart's team ā win out and you're in.
4. ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE (8-1)
Why they're here: Eye test continues to be Alabama's best metric if the Crimson Tide intend on reaching the Playoff, but Saturday's loss to LSU will potentially damage the cause. Unless Auburn flatlines prior to the Iron Bowl, that will be Alabama's only win over a Top 25 team this season and at 11-1, an at-large berth is best-case scenario for the non-division champs. If Alabama is in the conversation with one-loss conference champions Oregon and Oklahoma for the that fourth and final seed, it'll be interesting to see how the selection committee votes. If you think 'Bama bias' was bad two years ago, wait until it potentially happens against vs. two Power 5 champions.
3. CLEMSON TIGERS (10-0)
Why they're here: The Tigers have won 25 consecutive games dating back to the start of the 2018 season and the offense is sizzling coming down the stretch ā music to the ears of Dabo Swinney ,who has captured national championships two of the past three years. Clemson doesn't have a player in the Heisman race this season, but the talent on both sides of the football has led to numerous lopsided finishes in ACC play for a team that has only been tested once, on the road vs. North Carolina. Strength of schedule will catastrophically damage the Tigers over the next few weeks if they suffer an unexpected upset loss, but they won't. This team is clearly on a mission with a chip of their shoulder.
1. OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (9-0)
Why they're here: Chase Young's status the rest of the way is extremely important for the Buckeyes' national title hopes, but after the weekend's 73-burger against Maryland without him, Ohio State won't miss his presence until Penn State comes to town later this month (if he's still suspended then). Based on Week 11 results, the selection committee will likely drop the Buckeyes one spot back ā not due to what they did ā rather LSU's head-turning win at Alabama. Ryan Day's team is in great position regardless. Beat Penn State and Michigan this month and Ohio State could be ranked No. 1 entering conference championship weekend.
1. LSU TIGERS (9-0)
Why they're here: Without a shadow of a doubt, LSU should be ranked No. 1 in Tuesday's second Playoff rankings. That's four Top 10 wins (at time of game) this season following Saturday's momentum-building victory at Alabama, a game the Tigers largely dominated for three quarters against the defending SEC champions. LSU will be challenged defensively in the SEC Championship Game and final four, but the Tigers are now the co-national title favorites alongside Ohio State per oddsmakers ā and rightfully so. They have the best player in college football at quarterback and a head coach who is motivating these guys to play their best football down the stretch.
