2025 College Football Playoff Rankings Week 13 Top 25: Oklahoma upsets Alabama! SEC, ACC, and Big 12 heat up!

Oklahoma has shaken up the College Football Playoff by beating Alabama! The field got a lot tighter and the SEC is making noise for at least five teams to make the playoff, while the ACC and Big 12 attempt to get more than their one auto-bid. Here is my top 12 teams with breakdowns and the remaining 13 to make up my Week 13 Top 25. Enjoy!

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Vaughn Dalzell’s Week 13 College Football Playoff Rankings

1. Ohio State Buckeyes (10-0, 7-0)
Next Game: Saturday 12 PM ET vs Rutgers
Last Game: 48-10 win vs UCLA

The Buckeyes have been the perennial No. 1 ranked team since their Week 1 win over Texas as an underdog. Since then, Ohio State really hasn’t been tested. A 24-6 win over Washington that included a 7-6 halftime lead was the closest competition the Buckeyes found themselves in this season following Week 1. A win over Michigan next week would give Ohio State three ranked wins this season: #1 Texas (14-7) and #17 Illinois (34-16).

2. Indiana Hoosiers (11-0, 8-0)
Next Game: Bye Week
Last Game: 31-7 win vs Wisconsin

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Indiana had a scare at Penn State (27-24) and played a close game versus Iowa (20-15), but other than those two, the Hoosiers have won by double-digits in every game. The Hoosiers have two ranked wins over #3 Oregon and #9 Illinois, who they beat by 10 and 53 points — fortunately, Indian played both at the right time as neither team ever climbed higher than their rankings when going into the Indiana game.

3. Texas A&M Aggies (10-0, 7-0)
Next Game: Saturday 12 PM ET vs Samford
Last Game: 31-30 win vs South Carolina

Texas A&M survived another thriller, going down 30-3 to South Carolina at home and storming back to win 31-30. The Aggies seem like a team of destiny with some insane comeback wins over South Carolina and at Notre Dame with seconds remaining. The Aggies have three ranked wins with them all coming on the road — A&M will play at #17 Texas next weekend for a chance at a fourth ranked win on the road.

4. Georgia Bulldogs (9-1, 7-1)
Next Game: Saturday 12:45 PM ET vs Charlotte
Last Game: 35-10 win vs #10 Texas

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Georgia added to its resume by beating #10 Texas to give the Bulldogs three ranked wins and a 3-1 record versus top 25 opponents. Georgia lost to Alabama (24-21) a game after being gifted a win at Tennessee (44-41 OT) thanks to a missed field goal by the Vols. Georgia’s resume is stronger than my No. 5 — Texas Tech, but I’d take the Red Raiders head-to-head in a neutral field game because of their defense.

5. Texas Tech Red Raiders (10-1, 7-1)
Next Game: Bye Week
Last Game: 48-9 win vs UCF

Texas Tech has arguably been one of the most impressive and surprising teams this season. With Behren Morton, the Red Raiders offense has looked unstoppable with at least 29 points in every one of his starts. The defense held 9 out of 11 opponents to 17 or fewer points, including 10 to Utah and 7 to BYU in their two ranked wins.

6. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (8-2)
Next Game: Saturday 3:30 PM ET vs Syracuse
Last Game: 37-15 win vs #24 Pitt

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Teams are laying down left and right against Notre Dame as the Irish have put together eight consecutive wins. Only one of Notre Dame’s wins came by 10 or fewer points, which was a 10-point win over USC. Everybody has lost by double-digits after Notre Dame lost by three to Miami and one to Texas A&M. The Irish have arguably the most impressive losses in the country and cleaned every other opponent, including two ranked teams. You can’t have Notre Dame ranked anything worse than No. 7, but I like them at No. 6.

7. Oklahoma Sooners (8-2, 4-2)
Next Game: Saturday 12 PM ET vs #22 Missouri
Last Game: 23-21 win at #4 Alabama

Oklahoma grabbed back-to-back ranked road wins over Tennessee (33-27) and Alabama (23-21) for what might be the best two-game stretch from any team in the country. Despite losing two games in the past five contests, the Sooners have a terrific resume that includes four-ranked wins in five tries and a 4-0 road record.

8. Ole Miss Rebels (10-1, 6-1)
Next Game: Bye Week
Last Game: 34-24 win vs Florida

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Ole Miss won four straight games after dropping a road contest at Georgia (43-35). The Rebels have two ranked wins, #4 LSU (24-19) and #13 Oklahoma (34-26). The Rebels have won a ton of close games too, which is concerning. Ole Miss beat Kentucky, Arkansas, LSU, Washington State, and Oklahoma each by one possession, which is a dangerous game.

9. Alabama Crimson Tide (8-2, 6-1)
Next Game: Saturday 2 PM ET vs Eastern Illinois
Last Game: 23-21 loss vs #11 Oklahoma

Week 12 was a rough time to suffer your second loss of the season if you are Alabama. The Tide beat four ranked opponents over a four-week stretch with no byes, but lost its latest ranked game versus Oklahoma. Alabama owns the SEC tiebreaker over Georgia for the final spot versus Texas A&M, while Georgia has the tiebreaker over Ole Miss. Both Alabama and Ole Miss have one game remaining each in conference and have to win next week, plus more than likely get a little help.

10. Oregon Ducks (9-1, 6-1)
Next Game: Saturday 3:30 PM ET vs #15 USC
Last Game: 42-13 win vs Minnesota

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Oregon has two ranked wins on the year over #3 Penn State and #20 Iowa, barely surviving both with a 6-point OT win and two-point comeback win off a field goal. The Ducks’ resume isn’t that strong when you consider the two best wins and their 30-20 loss at home to Indiana. Only two teams that Oregon beat have a winning record, Iowa and Minnesota, their last two opponents. That is bad news and Oregon could be fraudulent or a first round exit in the playoff.

11. Utah Utes (8-2, 5-2)
Next Game: Saturday 4 PM ET vs Kansas State
Last Game: 55-28 win vs Baylor

Utah has obliterated opponents over the last three game following the 24-21 loss to #15 BYU. The Utes lost their biggest home and road game of the season, which could be detrimental to their playoff hopes. Utah is 2-2 in ranked games and in a four-way tie for third-place in the conference with two Big 12 game left.

12. Vanderbilt Commodores (8-2, 4-2)
Next Game: Saturday 3:30 PM ET vs Kentucky
Last Game: Bye Week

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Vanderbilt is coming off a bye week and gets Kentucky and Tennessee to finish the regular season. It’s a good road for the Commodores who have puut together a magical season that could be defined by its 34-31loss to Texas. Vanderbilt has three ranked wins on the schedule this year and both there losses have come to ranked teams, #20 Texas and #10 Alabama. There is a strong case for Vanderbilt to be the fifth or even sixth team to make the College Football playoff out of the SEC.

Rest of the Field breakdown

The teams that have a chance to make the College Football Playoff: Georgia Tech, BYU, Miami, Virginia, SMU, Missouri, Pitt, Michigan and maybe, North Texas (probably not).

North Texas would be a miracle, while Michigan beating Ohio State is the Wolverines only path. Missouri needs to beat Oklahoma, smother Arkansas, and still needs more to happen, while the ACC is wide open for the taking. Georgia Tech, Miami, Virginia, SMU, and Pitt are all in play to make the conference championship. Whether or not more than one team makes it out of the ACC will depend on the champion, but Miami is likely the biggest at-large team from the ACC.

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The Big has BYU and Utah fighting for a spot. Both teams are doing their best to become party crashers as they deserve to be the second team in as Texas Tech will be in the field regardless. A loss for BYU or Utah will end their odds, but the schedule is appealing for both to win this weekend and the next.

The teams like Illinois, USC, Arizona State, Tennessee, Iowa, and Cincinnati are not in contention, in my opinion. I don’t see an avenue for any of those teams.

13. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (9-1, 6-1)
Next Game: Saturday 7 PM ET vs Pitt
Last Game: 36-34 win at Boston College

14. BYU Cougars (9-1, 6-1)
Next Game: Saturday 8 PM ET at Cincinnati
Last Game: 44-13 win vs TCU

15. SMU Mustangs (7-3, 5-1)
Next Game: Saturday 12 PM ET vs Louisville
Last Game: Bye Week

16. Miami Hurricanes (8-2, 4-2)
Next Game: Saturday 12 PM ET at Virginia Tech
Last Game: 41-7 win vs NC State

17. USC Trojans (8-2, 6-1)
Next Game: Saturday 3:30 PM ET at #7 Oregon
Last Game: 26-21 win vs #21 Iowa

18. Michigan Wolverines (8-2, 6-1)
Next Game: Saturday 4 PM ET at Maryland
Last Game: 24-22 win at Northwestern

19. Illinois Fighting Illini (7-3, 4-3)
Next Game: Saturday 7:30 PM ET at Wisconsin
Last Game: 24-6 win vs Maryland

20. Arizona State Sun Devils (7-3, 5-2)
Next Game: Saturday 8 PM ET at Colorado
Last Game: 25-23 win vs West Virginia

21. Virgina Cavaliers (9-2, 6-1)
Next Game: Bye Week
Last Game: 34-17 win at Duke

22. North Texas Mean Green (9-1, 5-1)
Next Game: Saturday at 7:30 PM ET at Rice
Last Game: 53-24 win at UAB

23. Missouri Tigers (7-3, 3-3)
Next Game: Saturday 12 PM ET at #8 Oklahoma
Last Game: 49-27 win vs Mississippi State

24. Tennessee Volunteers (7-3, 3-3)
Next Game: Saturday 7:30 PM ET at Florida
Last Game: 42-9 win vs New Mexico State

25. Pitt Panthers (7-3, 5-1)
Next Game: Saturday 7 PM ET at #16 Georgia Tech
Last Game: 37-15 loss vs #9 Notre Dame

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