Honestly, so far this year there hasn’t been much to debate about the College Football Playoff Top 25 Rankings. Conference Championship weekend dropped an atomic bomb that many had hoped for. On Friday night former No. 4 USC was routed in the second half of the Pac 12 Championship game by Utah in a 23-point loss. Then Saturday afternoon No. 3 TCU suffered their first loss to Kansas State in overtime of the Big 12 Championship. The tides have turned, and the four CFP teams are Georgia, Michigan, TCU, and Ohio State. Keep reading to view the rest of the Top 25 Rankings and Bowl Game Betting Odds here!
College Football Playoff Top 25 Rankings
1. Georgia Bulldogs (13-0)
Chick-Fil-a Peach Bowl: WynnBET (-6.5) Georgia vs No. 4 Ohio State
(-145 WynnBET) To Win National Championship
Georgia’s first touchdown of the game was a slow-developing return of a blocked field goal. The floodgates opened as the Bulldogs poured on a total of 50 points in a 50-30 blowout win against LSU. Stetson Bennett threw for 274 yards and four touchdowns but that wasn’t what stood out from the box score. In a game where Jayden Daniels exited with an injury, he and his backup quarterback Garrett Nussmeier combined to pass for 502 yards! Could Ohio State and their prolific passing offense take a page out of the Tigers’ playbook and gash the Bulldogs in the Peach Bowl? Georgia remains number one on the college football playoff top 25 rankings.
2. Michigan Wolverines (13-0)
Vrbo Fiesta Bowl: WynnBET (-9) Michigan vs No. 3 TCU
Once again Michigan pressed their foot on the gas pedal in the second half to pull away from their opponent. This time it was Purdue being outscored 29-9 in the final 30 minutes of the Big Ten Championship game. Backup running back Donovan Edwards dashed for 185 yards and a touchdown. The Wolverines will battle the Big 12’s runner-up TCU in the Fiesta Bowl from their number two spot on the college football playoff top 25 rankings.
(+275 WynnBET) To Win National Championship
3. TCU Horned Frogs (12-1)
Vrbo Fiesta Bowl: WynnBET (+9) TCU vs No. 2 Michigan
Despite a 95-yard rushing drive by quarterback Max Duggan to tie the game and force overtime, TCU lost their first game of the 2022 season. The close loss convinced the college football playoff committee to keep the Horned Frogs in the field of four via eye test. Digesting tiebreakers in TCU’s resume solidified TCU as the three seed in the college football playoff top 25 rankings. Against the Top 25 TCU was 5-1 this season, better than any other team vying for the three spot.
(+1800 WynnBET) To Win National Championship
4. Ohio State Buckeyes (11-1)
Chick-Fil-a Peach Bowl: WynnBET (+6.5) Ohio State vs No. 1 Georgia
As I stated in this article last week, Ohio State was in a great position by virtue of being ranked fifth and not having to play a game. USC went and got molliwopped by Utah this weekend. The Trojans lost by 22 points in the PAC 12 Championship game. Listen to The College Football Experience’s Conference Championship recap episode to hear how we feel about the switch.
In summary, USC earned the right to play a postseason game and a chance to win the PAC 12 Championship. They lost but they shouldn’t be jumped by a team that didn’t earn the right to play a game. In the regular season both teams had 11-1 records, and were 2-1 against Top 25 teams, with that loss coming to their conference champion. But what separates those losses is that USC lost AT Utah 43-42, Ohio State lost 45-23 AT home vs Michigan. However, they find themselves in the fourth spot of the college football top 25 rankings.
(+360 WynnBET) To Win National Championship
5. Alabama Crimson Tide (10-2)
6. Tennessee Volunteers (10-2)
7. Clemson Tigers (11-2)
8. Utah Utes (10-3)
9. Kansas State Wildcats (10-3)
10. USC Trojans (11-2)
11. Penn State Nittany Lions (10-2)
12. Washington Huskies (10-2)
13. Florida State Seminoles (9-3)
14. Oregon State Beavers (9-3)
15. Oregon Ducks (9-3)
16. Tulane Green Wave (11-2)
17. LSU Tigers (9-4)
18. UCLA Bruins (9-3)
19. South Carolina Gamecocks (8-4)
20. Texas Longhorns (8-4)
21. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (8-4)
22. Mississippi State Bulldogs (8-4)
23. NC State Wolf Pack (8-4)
24. Troy Trojans (11-2)
25. UTSA Roadrunners (11-2)
College Football Playoff New Year’s Six Bowls
Capital One Orange Bowl: Friday, December 30th – Miami, Fla.
(-4.5) No. 6 Tennessee vs No. 7 Clemson
All State Sugar Bowl: Saturday, December 31st – New Orleans, La.
(-4.5) No. 5 Alabama vs No. 9 Kansas State
Rose Bowl: Monday, January 2nd – Pasadena, Calif.
(-1.5) No. 11 Penn State vs No. 8 Utah
Goodyear Cotton Bowl: Monday, January 2nd – Arlington, Tex.
(-1.5) No. 10 USC vs No. 16 Tulane
Other Bowl Game Opening Lines Including Teams Outside College Football Top 25 teams
December 17th Through December 20th Games
Duluth Trading Cure Bowl: Saturday, December 16th – Orlando, Fla.
(-2.5) No. 24 Troy vs No. 25 UTSA
Frisco Bowl: Saturday, December 17th – Frisco, Tex.
(-7) Boise State vs North Texas
SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl: Saturday, December 17th – Las Vegas, Nev.
(-7.5) Oregon State vs Florida
LendingTree Bowl: Saturday, December 17th – Mobile, Ala
(-4.5) Southern Miss vs Rice
Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl: Saturday, December 17th – Inglewood, Calif.
(-4.5) Washington State vs Fresno State
New Mexico Bowl: Saturday, December 17th – Albuquerque, N.M.
(-2.5) SMU vs BYU
Wasabi Fenway Bowl: Saturday, December 17th – Boston, Mass.
(-1.5) Cincinnati vs Louisville
HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl: Saturday, December 17th – Nassau, Bahamas
(-11.5) UAB vs Miami Ohio
Myrtle Beach Bowl: Monday, December 19th – Conway, S.C.
(-9.5) Marshall vs UConn
RoofClaimdotcom Boca Raton Bowl: Tuesday, December 20th – Boca Raton, Fla.
(-1.5) Toledo vs Liberty
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Tuesday, December 20th – Boca Raton, Fla.
(-3.5) San Jose State vs Eastern Michigan
December 21st Through December 29th Bowl Games
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl: Wednesday, December 21st – New Orleans, La.
(-2.5) South Alabama vs Western Kentucky
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl: Thursday, December 22nd – Fort Worth, Tex.
(-6.5) Baylor vs Air Force
Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl: Friday, December 23rd – Tampa, Fla.
(-1.5) Wake Forest vs Missouri
Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl: Friday, December 23rd – Shreveport, La.
(-3) Houston vs Louisiana
EasyPost Hawai’i Bowl: Saturday, December 24th – Honolulu, Hawai’i
(-1.5) San Diego State vs Middle Tennessee
Quick Lane Bowl: Monday, December 26th – Detroit, Mich.
(-1.5) New Mexico State vs Bowling Green
Guaranteed Rate Bowl: Tuesday, December 27th – Phoenix, Ariz.
(-2.5) Wisconsin vs Oklahoma State
TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl: Tuesday, December 27th – Birmingham, Ala.
(-7) East Carolina vs Coastal Carolina
SERVPRO First Responder Bowl: Tuesday, December 27th – Phoenix, Ariz.
(-10.5) Memphis vs Utah State
Camellia Bowl: Tuesday, December 27th – Montgomery, Ala.
(-4.5) Georgia Southern vs Buffalo
TaxAct Texas Bowl: Wednesday, December 28th – Houston, Tex.
(-3) Ole Miss vs Texas Tech
San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl: Wednesday, December 28th – San Diego, Calif.
(-9.5) No. 15 Oregon vs North Carolina
AutoZone Liberty Bowl: Wednesday, December 28th – Memphis, Tenn.
(N/A) Arkansas vs Kansas
Military Bowl: Wednesday, December 28th – Annapolis, Md.
(-3.5) UCF vs Duke
Valero Alamo Bowl: Thursday, December 29th – San Antonio, Tex.
(N/A) No. 12 Washington vs No. 20 Texas
Cheez-It Bowl: Thursday, December 29th – Orlando, Fla.
(-7.5) Florida State vs Oklahoma
Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl: Thursday, December 29th – Yankee Stadium, Bronx, N.Y.
(-6.5) Minnesota vs Syracuse
December 30th Through January 2nd Bowl Games
Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl: Friday, December 30th – Tucson, Ariz.
(-3.5) Ohio vs Wyoming
TaxSlayer Gator Bowl: Friday, December 30th – Jacksonville, Fla.
(-4.5) No. 21 Notre Dame vs No. 19 South Carolina
Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl: Friday, December 30th – El Paso, Tex.
(-3.5) No. 18 UCLA vs Pitt
Duke’s Mayo Bowl: Friday, December 30th – Charlotte, N.C.
(-2.5) Maryland vs No. 23 NC State
TransPerfect Music City Bowl: Saturday, December 31st – Nashville, Tenn.
(-3.5) Kentucky vs Iowa
Cheez-It Citrus Bowl: Monday, January 2nd – Orlando, Fla.
(-5.5) No. 17 LSU vs Purdue
ReliaQuest Bowl: Monday, January 2nd – Tampa, Fla.
(-1.5) No. 22 Mississippi State vs Illinois
