CFB: Pre-CFP Power Rankings
1. Alabama (13-0, 8-0): The Crimson Tide are one of four teams in the country to remain undefeated to this point, but have been clearly one of the two best teams. Alabama has only had one game in which they didn't win by 21+ points, and that was against 6th ranked Georgia in the SEC title game. They only allowed 193 points in the entire year and were 4-0 against AP ranked opponents (Texas A&M, LSU, Mississippi State, and Georgia), which they won by a combined score of 133-51. QB Tua Tagovailoa has clearly been the best player on the team, and could possibly win the Heisman this weekend, as he threw for 3,353 yards, 37 touchdowns, and four picks. The Tide will face 4th ranked Oklahoma in the CFP semifinal on December 29th.
2. Clemson (13-0, 8-0): The Tigers (along with Alabama) have looked like the top tier contenders and they proved that by going undefeated during the regular season, and then finishing off their impressive resume with a 42-10 rout over Pittsburgh in the ACC championship game. QB Trevor Lawerence was a question mark coming into the year because he's a true freshman, but he quieted many doubters by throwing for 2,606 yards and 24 touchdowns after taking over the starting spot against Syracuse. RB Travis Etienne was arguably the top back in the nation, as he broke out in his sophomore campaign (1,463 yards, 21 touchdowns, 176 attempts). According to the ESPN FPI, the Tigers have a 71.4 percent chance to reach the national championship game.
3. Notre Dame (12-0, 5-0): The Fighting Irish are getting overlooked ahead of their matchup with Clemson in the CFP semifinal at the Cotton Bowl, and maybe that's because they've only scored 405 points on the year. That's a far cry from the other playoff teams, all of who have scored 590+ points. However, some of that can be attributed to QB Ian Book's absence in the first three games of the year. QB Brandon Wimbush came into the season as the starter, but he struggled to score points through the first month of the year, averaging just 23.3 points per game. Enter Book. Notre Dame finished the year by scoring 30+ in seven of their final nine games and if they can do it again versus the Tigers, they might be looking at a nation title berth.
4. Oklahoma (12-1, 8-1): The Sooners fill out the final spot, but they have a chance to take down Goliath on December 29th against Alabama. If there is any single player in the nation who can frustrate the Crimson Tide's defense, it's Oklahoma's QB Kyler Murray. Murray has thrown for 4,053 yards, 40 touchdowns, and only seven interceptions. How about on the ground game? He's added 892 yards and 7.3 yards per carry. He is possibly going to win the Heisman Trophy, and has an opportunity to prove just how great he is against a stout defense. Oklahoma has scored 643 points (while giving up 421) on the year, and have been arguably the greatest offense of all-time. Now we'll just wait and see if they can challenge the Tide in a few weeks.
Next Up:
5. Ohio State (12-1, 8-1)
6. Georgia (11-2, 7-1)
7. UCF (12-0, 8-0)
8. Michigan (10-2, 8-1)
9. Washington (10-3, 7-2)
10. Texas (9-4, 7-2)
Photo Credit: Irish Sports Talk.
